Writers Guild of America's 101 Greatest Screenplays Of The 21st Century (So Far)

Earlier this week, the Writers Guild of America released its list of the 101 Greatest Screenplays Of The 21st Century (So Far).

Taking the top spot was Jordan Peele's script for the 2017 horror Get Out. 

Aaron Mendelsohn, chair of WGAW's Publicity and Marketing Committee, said “As voted upon by the members of the Writers Guilds West and East, the list of the 101 Greatest Screenplays of the 21st Century (so far) is both a celebration of the great writers and screenplays of the last 21 years and a study of how writing for the screen has evolved and diversified since the 20th Century... Plus, it's a great conversation- and argument- starter.”  

There's certainly some interesting choices on here and what I would personally consider to be some glaring omissions.

The full list can be found here, but here are some of the more interesting facts and figures:

The Top 10 films are:

• Get Out (2017) by Jordan Peele
• Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004) by Charlie Kaufman
• The Social Network (2010) by Aaron Sorkin
• Parasite (2019) by Bong Joon Ho and Han Jim Won
• No Country For Old Men (2007) by Joel and Ethan Coen
• Moonlight (2016) by Barry Jenkins
• There Will Be Blood (2007) by Paul Thomas Anderson
• Inglourious Basterds (2009) by Quentin Tarantino
• Almost Famous (2000) by Cameron Crowe
• Memento (2000) by Christopher Nolan

Of the 101 screenplays, 63 were original screenplays, whilst 38 were adapted or based on existing source material.

The most prolific writer on the list is Christopher Nolan, who has written (or co-written) four scripts: Memento (2000, #10); The Prestige (2006, #82); The Dark Knight (2008, #26), and Inception (2010, #37)

Quentin Tarantino, Joel and Ethan Coen, Alfonso Cuarón, and Paul Thomas Anderson all have three films included in the list. 

Bridesmaids (2011, Annie Mumulo & Kristen Wiig), Brokeback Mountain (2005, co-written by Diana Ossana), Lady Bird (2017, Greta Gerwig), Lost In Translation (2003, Sofia Coppola), and Promising Young Woman (2020, Emerald Fennell) are the five highest-placed screenplays by women.

Of the 101 screenplays, 20 of them were written (or co-written) by women, with Bridesmaids (2011, #12) as the highest-ranking female-written film. A further three films- Adaptation. (2002, #11), Children Of Men (2006, #18), and Jojo Rabbit (2019, #28)- were adapted by male screenwriters from source material written by women. 

Nine animated films made the list, with Inside Out (2015, #29) being the highest-ranked animated film. 

29 films on the list have won a Best Screenplay Oscar (16 for Best Original, 13 for Best Adapted). A further 51 have been nominated for one of the awards (35 for Best Original, 16 for Best Adapted), meaning 80 of the 101 films have had Academy recognition. 

Of the 101 films, I'm personally over the moon to see Brokeback Mountain (2005, #13), Sideways (2004, #15), Promising Young Woman (2020, #23), Mean Girls (2004, #34), Knives Out (2019, #49), Spirited Away (2001, #67), Call Me By Your Name (2017, #79), and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017, #80) included.

Although I do think the list is missing several very strong screenplays: personally, I'd add the following screenplays to the mix:

• Moulin Rouge! (2001, written by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce)
• Gosford Park (2001, written by Julian Fellowes)
• The Hours (2002, written by David Hare)
• Frost/Nixon (2008, written by Peter Morgan)
• Black Swan (2010, written by Mark Heyman, Andrés Heinz, and John McLaughlin)
• August: Osage County (2013, written by Tracy Letts)
• Blue Jasmine (2013, written by Woody Allen)
• Love, Simon (2018, written by Elizabeth Berger and Isaac Aptaker)
• Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018, written by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty) 

But what about you? Have the WGA come up with a good list, or are they wide off the mark? What would you put on your own list of the 101 Greatest Screenplays Of The 21st Century (So Far)? Let us know in the comments below.

Awards Season 2018: The 90th Academy Awards

All in all, it was a night of no real surprises, but pleasant enough. 

Unlike last year, this year's Oscars ceremony didn't do anything controversial. Hell, even the winners were pretty safe (for the most part- a film about Russian doping at the Olympics winning Best Documentary Feature might be classed as a bit dicey).

Jimmy Kimmel returned as host; although general critical reception was a bit mixed, I enjoyed his performance for the most part, so was glad to see him back. It was kind of the same this year: mostly, he did well, and he acknowledged when things didn't hit. His opening speech made reference to last year's Best Picture farrago, the disgrace of Harvey Weinstein, and the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements (which were mentioned quite a bit, as you'd expect). This year's gimmick was to take a bunch of A-listers over to a nearby cinema to thank the cinema-going public for their continued support (an interesting idea, but one which one of the included montages did with a bit more style and grace). Another interesting idea was- to streamline the show as much as possible- Kimmel was giving away a jetski as a prize for the shortest acceptance speech (won by costume designer Mark Bridges whose acceptance speech was a positively svelte 36 seconds). 

Some of the guest presenters were better than others- there were a couple of lovely introductions by previous Oscar winners Eva Marie Saint and Rita Moreno who presented Best Costume Design and Best Foreign Language Film respectively, and I quite enjoyed the banter between Jennifer Lawrence and Jodie Foster (who was on crutches) suggesting that she'd been crocked by Meryl Streep! 

The musical numbers- for each of the Best Original Song nominees- were very diverse in their performances, with 'Remember Me' from Coco going for a full production number, whilst Sufjan Stevens gave a very different (and much more stripped back) performance for Call Me By Your Name's 'The Mystery Of Love'. My favourite performance, however, came from Keala Settle who gave an absolutely storming rendition of 'This Is Me' from The Greatest Showman. There was also a poignant performance by Eddie Vedder of the late Tom Petty's 'Room At The Top' for the In Memoriam section. 

On to the awards themselves...

So, five out of six is alright. I'm not at all surprised that The Shape Of Water won Best Picture, and it is a worthy winner of the top prize (I did like that Guillermo del Toro checked the envelope before starting his acceptance speech!). All the acting categories fell as expected, with Gary Oldman giving a lovely speech which ended with him asking his 99-year-old mum to put the kettle on, and then Frances McDormand giving a typically no-f's-given speech which brought the crowd in the Dolby Theatre to its feet. Sam Rockwell was the first winner of the evening (as Best Supporting Actor was the first award of the night), and Allison Janney gave a touching, self-deprecating speech which was lovely. 

I was very pleased with The Silent Child's win for Best Live Action Short Film; it's the story of a profoundly deaf child who struggles to communicate. It's a British film, and writer Rachel Shenton used sign language in her acceptance speech. I was also very pleased with James Ivory winning Best Adapted Screenplay; at 89, he is the oldest man to have won a competitive Academy Award. After thirteen non-starts, cinematographer Roger Deakins found fourteen was the charm as he finally clinched an Oscar for his work on Blade Runner 2049. He gave a humble and rather charming acceptance speech. Also, basketball superstar Kobe Bryant can now add an Oscar to his list of accolades, as he won for writing the Best Animated Short Film Dear Basketball. 

The Shape Of Water was the big winner of the night, taking home four Oscars, with Dunkirk taking home three, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Darkest Hour, Coco, and Blade Runner 2049 winning two Oscars apiece. Despite multiple nominations, there was nothing for Lady Bird, Mudbound, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, or Baby Driver. 


Below is the full list of winners at the 90th Academy Awards:

Best Motion Picture of the Year: The Shape Of Water

Best Actor: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

Best Actress: Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Best Director: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape Of Water)

Best Original Screenplay: Jordan Peele (Get Out)

Best Adapted Screenplay: James Ivory (Call Me By Your Name)

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: Coco

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year: A Fantastic Woman

Best Cinematography: Blade Runner 2049

Best Editing: Dunkirk

Best Production Design: The Shape Of Water

Best Costume Design: Phantom Thread

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Darkest Hour

Best Original Score: The Shape Of Water

Best Original Song: 'Remember Me' (Coco)

Best Sound Mixing: Dunkirk

Best Sound Editing: Dunkirk

Best Visual Effects: Blade Runner 2049

Best Documentary (Feature): Icarus

Best Documentary (Short Subject): Heaven Is A Traffic Jam On The 405

Best Animated Short Film: Dear Basketball

Best Live Action Short Film: The Silent Child


Congratulations to all winners!

So that's awards season done for another year. Thank you all for your patience and your indulgence. It's time to put awards shenanigans to bed until November. Speaking of putting things to bed, I'm going to put myself to bed. It's 6:15am here in the UK, and I could really do with some sleep. 

Tez

Awards Season 2018: Independent Spirit Awards Winners

This is the first of two (possibly three?) posts today about awards season, as it all comes to the grand finale tonight with the 90th Academy Awards. They can be viewed on a dedicated Sky Movies channel in the UK and on ABC in the US.

But before I get on to post my Oscar predictions, there's one more awards body to get out of the way first. 

Yesterday- Saturday 3rd March- saw the handing out of the 33rd Film Independent Spirit Awards, in a ceremony hosted by Nick Kroll (Loving, Sing, Vacation) and John Mulaney (Mayne Street, Saturday Night Live) for the second year running.

As you no doubt know by now, the Independent Spirit Awards honour films made (partly or wholly) outside the major film studio system. Some of the winners are below.

Best Feature: Get Out

Best Female Lead: Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Male Lead: Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name)

Best Supporting Female: Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Best Supporting Male: Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Director: Jordan Peele (Get Out)

Best Screenplay: Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird)

Best First Screenplay: Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick)

Best Cinematography: Call Me By Your Name

Best First Feature: Ingrid Goes West

Best International Film: A Fantastic Woman

Best Documentary: Faces Places

John Cassavetes Award: Life And Nothing More

The John Cassavetes Award is given to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $500,000. The full list of winners can be found here.

A fairly even spread of awards, with no one film totally dominating. Get Out, Call Me By Your Name, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and I, Tonya all came away with two awards each. 

With wins here, McDormand, Janney, and Rockwell surely cement their positions for winning the Oscars (but more on that later). I'm really pleased with both of Call Me By Your Name's wins- Timothee Chalamet's central performance is just superb and Sayombhu Mukdeeprom's cinematography is utterly gorgeous. 

Get Out is a very worthy winner of Best Picture and of Best Director, but it may struggle to replicate that success at the Oscars, due to it being up against more mainstream fare. However, in a hotly contested Original Screenplay category, it could be taking at least one statuette home. 

So, with that done, this just leaves the main event: the Oscars tonight. As promised, my predictions for the big winners will be coming later today.

Awards Season 2018: Writers' Guild Awards Winners

Just a quick update today as The Writers' Guild Awards were handed out yesterday (Sunday 11th February).

The film winners were:

Original Screenplay: Get Out

Adapted Screenplay: Call Me By Your Name

Documentary Screenplay: Jane

The WGA nominees for Original and Adapted Screenplays are virtually identical to those for the Oscars: the only difference is that the WGA nominated I, Tonya in the Original Screenplay category as Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri was ineligible for consideration under WGA rules. 

I'm overjoyed that Call Me By Your Name won; the screenplay is one of the most touching, poignant, and heartfelt pieces of writing I've experienced in ages. Get Out's eclectic blend of genres and styles is a superb piece of writing and, again, really glad to see it awarded. 

Interestingly, none of the nominees for the WGA Documentary Screenplay Award have been nominated for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar. 

Next Sunday (18th February) sees the 71st British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) handed out. I'll put up a full list of winners after the ceremony. 

Review: Get Out (UK Cert 15)

Meeting your girlfriend's family for the first time is nerve-wracking enough, but for Chris Washington, it literally becomes a matter of life and death. Welcomed warmly (maybe a bit too warmly) by Rose's liberal parents, the truth behind Chris' visit soon becomes apparent- and he's forced into a desperate battle for survival... 

Released in 2017, I missed Get Out during its cinema release, but it's now available on DVD/BluRay, so I've been able to catch up with it, and I'm glad that I have. I'm not a massive horror fan, as I've said before, but I thoroughly enjoyed the film (as did Matt, who spoke highly of it in our Review Of The Year). It's not a horror in the traditional sense; it's much more of a thriller in the style of something like Rosemary's Baby or the 1970s version of The Stepford Wives. There's the occasional jump-scare but they're few and far between. The final 20 minutes or so do descend into typical 'horror movie' final act tropes (with Chris as the Final Girl) but, such is the skill that's gone before in making Chris a sympathetic character, you're really behind him and you want him to escape. 

Londoner Daniel Kaluuya absolutely nails the American accent and plays Chris with a wonderful balance of nervousness and steel. Becoming slowly exasperated by everyone's niceness (which he attributes to political correctness), he soon finds out there's a much more sinister plot brewing beneath the bonhomie. You could write a whole thesis on the racial politics and representations in the film; Chris is asked several times to comment on 'the Black Experience' (as if he's some kind of spokesman) and there's a sly reference to the fetishisation of black men as sexual objects which comes out of left-field. It's an impressive central performance which has been rightly lauded throughout this awards season.

This is the first thing I've seen Allison Williams in (I haven't ever seen Girls), but she is superb as Rose. Even after the twist is revealed, there's still a magnetism to her performance which is utterly beguiling- you can understand why Chris has fallen in love with her. Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener play Rose's parents Dean and Missy as almost caricaturistally liberal (a common refrain is they would have voted for Obama for a third term if they could) but there's a definite hint of menace beneath both performances- Keener's in particular- which makes for a nicely ambiguous set-up at the beginning. Caleb Landry Jones is good as Rose's unpredictable brother Jeremy, a more ostensible threat than anything else going on at the house. 

Betty Gabriel deserves a mention for her role as housekeeper Georgina- in a pivotal scene which suggests all may not be as it seems in the Armitage household, Georgina becomes confused, starts to cry and then laugh uncontrollably all in the space of a few seconds- it's one of the most uncomfortable but powerful moments in the film. You can literally see every emotion play across Gabriel's face. It's astounding. Finally, Lil Rel Howery provides the majority of the laughs as Chris' fast-talking TSA friend Rod, providing welcome moments of levity amidst the encroaching tension. 

There's some interesting visual quirks to the film- the sequences in The Sunken Place are really trippy but nicely realised- as well as a good use of sound design; the sound of a silver spoon stirring a cup of tea might well take on a different meaning after seeing Get Out. Jordan Peele's direction is slick and his screenplay a nice balance of funny and scary. 

Get Out is a real hybrid- a blend of social commentary, family drama, comedy, horror, and even some high-concept sci-fi all mixed together to create something that starts out as Guess Who's Coming To Dinner and ends up as more of a Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Even if horror isn't really your thing, give Get Out a go. It's a fine piece of film-making. 

Rating: 5 out of 5

Tez

Awards Season 2018: Directors' Guild Awards Winners

Just a quick awards season update as the Directors' Guild Awards (DGAs) were handed out yesterday (Saturday 3rd February). The film winners are:

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Films: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape Of Water)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director: Jordan Peele (Get Out)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Miniseries: Jean-Marc Vallee (Big Little Lies)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary: Matthew Heineman (City Of Ghosts)

I don't think anyone is massively surprised by this- this is a major step forward for del Toro taking home the Oscar (especially as his closest rival- Martin McDonagh- wasn't nominated). Good to see Jordan Peele get some recognition for Get Out too. 

Next in awards season will be the Writers' Guild (WGA) Awards next Sunday (11th February).

Awards Season 2018: Academy Award Nominations

As announced by Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip, Meet The Spartans) and Andy Serkis (The Lord Of The Rings, Black Panther) earlier today, here is a selection of the nominations for the 90th Academy Awards.

BEST PICTURE

Call Me By Your Name

Darkest Hour

Dunkirk

Get Out

Lady Bird

Phantom Thread

The Post

The Shape Of Water

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

BEST DIRECTOR

Paul Thomas Anderson (Phantom Thread)

Guillermo del Toro (The Shape Of Water)

Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird)

Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk)

Jordan Peele (Get Out)

BEST ACTOR

Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name)

Daniel Day-Lewis (Phantom Thread)

Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out)

Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

Denzel Washington (Roman J. Israel, Esq.)

BEST ACTRESS

Sally Hawkins (The Shape Of Water)

Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Margot Robbie (I, Tonya)

Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird)

Meryl Streep (The Post)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project)

Woody Harrelson (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Richard Jenkins (The Shape Of Water)

Christopher Plummer (All The Money In The World) 

Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Mary J. Blige (Mudbound)

Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread)

Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird)

Octavia Spencer (The Shape Of Water)

A full list of nominees can be found here.

So, by my reckoning, that makes 29 out of 34 (85%)

The Academy's love for Phantom Thread has tripped me up - Day-Lewis' nod for Best Actor was virtually guaranteed, but the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress nods were a surprise (although Lesley Manville is a superb actress so I'm really chuffed to see her nominated). Denzel Washington's nod was also a surprise, although he has been nominated for a Golden Globe and a SAG Award for this performance. 

Meryl Streep gets her 21st- yes, twenty-first, nomination - breaking her own record (which she set last year with Florence Foster Jenkins). There were four nods for Star Wars: The Last Jedi but nothing for Wonder Woman, Thor: Ragnarok, Spider-Man: Homecoming or Justice League. 

The Shape Of Water leads the field with a massive 13 nominations, Dunkirk has eight, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri has 7.

There's a bit of a break from the awards seasons shenanigans now, as the next major awards event will be the Directors' Guild (DGA) Awards on 3rd February, followed by the Writers' Guild (WGA) Awards on 11th February and then the BAFTA Film Awards a week later on 18th February. 

Huge congratulations to all nominees!

Awards Season 2018: Tez's Official Academy Award Nomination Predictions

Tomorrow (23rd January), the nominations for the 90th Academy Awards will be announced.

This year, there'll be a mix of live presentations from the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, with pre-taped category introductions, which will only be featured in the first half of the announcement (which generally covers technical awards, such as cinematography, make-up and hairstyling, costume design, and visual effects). 

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 tomorrow.

NB. Since the 2010 ceremony, 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 Sick

Call Me By Your Name

Darkest Hour

Dunkirk

Get Out

I, Tonya

Lady Bird

The Post

The Shape Of Water

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

BEST DIRECTOR

Guillermo del Toro (The Shape Of Water)

Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird)

Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk)

Jordan Peele (Get Out)

BEST ACTOR

Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name)

Daniel Day-Lewis (Phantom Thread)

James Franco (The Disaster Artist)

Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out)

Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

BEST ACTRESS

Sally Hawkins (The Shape Of Water)

Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Margot Robbie (I, Tonya)

Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird)

Meryl Streep (The Post)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project)

Armie Hammer (Call Me By Your Name)

Richard Jenkins (The Shape Of Water)

Christopher Plummer (All The Money In The World) 

Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Mary J. Blige (Mudbound)

Hong Chau (Downsizing)

Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird)

Octavia Spencer (The Shape Of Water)

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, amazingly, I got 32 out of 34. I'm not expecting such a high mark this time round. 

There could be potential 'upsets' in many categories. I went with the five DGA nominees, but you could easily see one or more of Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name), Steven Spielberg (The Post) or Ridley Scott (All The Money In The World) in Best Director in place of one or more of the names above. 

Whilst Best Actor is fairly solid, there could be a surprise nomination for Tom Hanks for The Post; given recent allegations, Franco could well lose his nomination if that does happen.  

I could have picked a number of actresses to fill the fifth slot for Best Actress (Hawkins, McDormand, Robbie and Ronan have been a solid core of nominees throughout). Jessica Chastain (Molly's Game), Judi Dench (Victoria & Abdul) and Annette Bening (Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool) have all given superb performances. In the end, though, the Academy does love Meryl Streep (and she is particularly good in The Post).

For Best Supporting Actor, there could be a surprise nod for Woody Harrelson for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri or (which sadly seems very unlikely) Michael Stuhlbarg for Call Me By Your Name.

Holly Hunter's supporting performance in The Big Sick has also drawn a lot of awards love, so she could easily be nominated. I wouldn't like to say which of the three from Blige, Chau or Spencer wouldn't then make the cut. Janney and Metcalf have been consistent nominees throughout so it's virtually guaranteed to see them mentioned. 

So what do you reckon? Am I on the right track or barking up the wrong tree? If you were a member of the Academy, who would you vote for?

I'll update the blog with my thoughts on the official nominees tomorrow afternoon. 

Watchers Review of 2017: The Nice, The Naughty, The Horror, and Coming In 2018!

In the latest of our Podcasts, which is in two parts, we discuss what we thought was Nice, and what made our Naughty List for 2017! 

Also Matt takes a look at the best horror films of last year and we look forward to what's coming up in 2018!

Sit back and enjoy!
Rhys

Part 1: Our Nice List and the Best Horror of 2017



Part 2: Our Naughty List and Coming Up in 2018

Awards Season 2018: Critics' Choice Movie Award Winners and Directors' Guild Awards (DGA) Nominations

There's a double dose of awards season goodness for you today, so let's get on with it!

* * *

CRITICS' CHOICE MOVIE AWARD WINNERS

Last night (11th January), the Critics' Choice Awards were handed out. Here's a full list of film winners:

Best Picture: The Shape Of Water

Best Actor: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

Best Actress: Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Best Acting Ensemble: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Director: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape Of Water)

Best Animated Feature: Coco

Best Original Screenplay: Get Out

Best Adapted Screenplay: Call Me By Your Name

Best Comedy: The Big Sick

Best Actor In A Comedy: James Franco (The Disaster Artist)

Best Actress In A Comedy: Margot Robbie (I, Tonya)

Best Action Movie: Wonder Woman

Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie: Get Out

Best Foreign Language Film: In The Fade

Best Score: The Shape Of Water

Best Song: 'Remember Me' (Coco)

Best Production Design: The Shape Of Water

Best Editing: Baby Driver and Dunkirk (tie)

Best Costume Design: Phantom Thread

Best Hair & Makeup: Darkest Hour

Best Visual Effects: War For The Planet Of The Apes

Best Cinematography: Blade Runner 2049

Best Young Actor/Actress: Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project)


The Shape Of Water was the biggest winner of the evening with four awards, whilst Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri got three. There's a definite pattern emerging with the major category winners...

* * *

DIRECTORS' GUILD OF AMERICA (DGA) AWARDS NOMINATIONS

Yesterday also saw the shortlist for this year's Directors' Guild Awards announced. Here are the nominees in the Feature Film category:

Guillermo del Toro (The Shape Of Water)

Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird)

Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk)

Jordan Peele (Get Out)

An interesting and diverse selection; this is Guillermo del Toro's first DGA nomination (and he's pretty much favourite to win). There's been a bit of surprise to Greta Gerwig and Jordan Peele's nominations- ahead of Steven Spielberg (The Post), Ridley Scott (All The Money In The World) or Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name)- but they've both had previous nominations in other awards bodies, so it's not as if they've come from nowhere. Interestingly, Greta Gerwig is the eighth woman to be nominated for the Feature Film award, whilst Jordan Peele is the fourth man of colour. However, this is the first year that a white American male director has not been nominated. 

The winners will be announced on 3rd February. 

There's now a week's respite from awards seasons stuff; we'll pick back up on 21st January with the Producers' Guild Awards (PGA) winners before a very busy few days leading up to the Oscar nominations on 23rd January. 

Awards Season 2018: BAFTA Film Awards Nominations

It was an early start to the day for some, as this year's BAFTA Film Awards nominees were announced at 7:30am this morning (9th January) by Natalie Dormer and Letitia Wright.

Here's a selection of the nominees:

BEST FILM

Call Me By Your Name

Darkest Hour

Dunkirk

The Shape Of Water

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

Darkest Hour

The Death Of Stalin

God's Own Country

Lady Macbeth

Paddington 2

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

LEADING ACTOR

Jamie Bell (Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool)

Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name)

Daniel Day-Lewis (Phantom Thread)

Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out)

Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

LEADING ACTRESS

Annette Bening (Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool)

Sally Hawkins (The Shape Of Water)

Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Margot Robbie (I, Tonya)

Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird)

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project)

Hugh Grant (Paddington 2)

Woody Harrelson (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Christopher Plummer (All The Money In The World)

Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread)

Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird)

Kristin Scott Thomas (Darkest Hour)

Octavia Spencer (The Shape Of Water)

DIRECTOR

Guillermo del Toro (The Shape Of Water)

Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name)

Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk)

Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049)

A full list of nominees can be found here.

The Shape Of Water leads the field with 12 nominations, whilst Darkest Hour and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri have 9 apiece.

Whilst there's a lot of the usual names been mentioned here, there's always a British slant to the BAFTAs which means it can often buck the trends of the American-based awards bodies; that's why the nods for Lesley Manville, Hugh Grant, Kristin Scott Thomas and Jamie Bell might seem surprising at first (but actually aren't that radical; well, maybe Hugh Grant's is). There's also the issue of eligibility due to release- for example, two of the nominees for Film Not In The English Language (Elle and The Salesman) were nominated for many awards last year but not the BAFTA. It may be that films like Mudbound and Downsizing (who have had several nominations throughout this awards season) weren't shown in time to make them eligible. Besides, always good to shake things up a bit, and I'm glad to see Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool get some awards love as it was a superb film. 


This year's EE Rising Star nominees are Timothee Chalamet, Daniel Kaluuya, Josh O'Connor, Florence Pugh and Tessa Thompson. 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 18th February at the Royal Albert Hall, with Joanna Lumley taking up the mantle of host (as Stephen Fry has stepped down after 12 years in the role). 

Congratulations to all nominees!




Thursday (11th January) sees the announcement of the Directors' Guild Awards (DGA) and also the Critics' Choice Awards ceremony, so there'll be a post about that on Friday (12th January). 

Awards Season 2018: Writers' Guild Awards (WGA) and Producers' Guild Awards (PGA) Nominations

A double dose of awards news today, with the recent announcement of two Guild Awards nominations.

WRITERS' GUILD OF AMERICA (WGA) AWARDS NOMINATIONS

This year's nominees for the WGA Awards were announced yesterday (4th January).

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

The Big Sick

Get Out

I, Tonya

Lady Bird

The Shape Of Water

Several films- including Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Coco, and Darkest Hour- were deemed ineligible for nomination as they were produced outside the WGA's jurisdiction. AMPAS don't have the same rules so these films would be eligible for the Original Screenplay Oscar. 

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Call Me By Your Name

The Disaster Artist

Logan

Molly's Game

Mudbound

Good to see Logan getting a nod in the Adapted Screenplay category. Fun fact: at the age of 89, James Ivory (who adapted Call Me By Your Name) gets his first WGA nomination.

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Betting On Zero

Jane

No Stone Unturned

Oklahoma City

The WGA Awards will be handed out on 11th February.

* * *

PRODUCERS' GUILD OF AMERICA (PGA) AWARDS NOMINATIONS

This year's PGA Awards nominees were announced today (5th January). The film nominees are as follows:

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures

The Big Sick

Call Me By Your Name

Dunkirk

Get Out

I, Tonya

Lady Bird

Molly's Game

The Post

The Shape Of Water

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Wonder Woman

A lot of the usual names present and correct, although the nods for Molly's Game and I, Tonya have raised a few eyebrows, as has the nomination for Wonder Woman (although it's entirely well deserved). A voting tie- which hasn't been disclosed- means that eleven films have been selected for this award this year (usually, it's an even round 10). I've got a sneaky feeling that you'll see eight of these 11 nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.  

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures

The Boss Baby

Coco

Despicable Me 3

Ferdinand

The Lego Batman Movie

Documentary Film (previously announced)

Chasing Coral

City Of Ghosts

Cries From Syria

Earth: One Amazing Day

Jane

Joshua: Teenager Vs Superpower

The Newspaperman: The Life And Times Of Ben Bradlee

The PGA Awards will be handed out on 20th January.


The next Awards Season post will be Monday (8th January) with the winners of this year's Golden Globes.