Awards Season 2017: Independent Spirit Awards and Razzies Winners

 This is the first of two posts today about awards season, as it all comes to the grand finale tonight with the 89th Annual Academy Awards. They can be viewed on a dedicated Sky Movies channel in the UK and on ABC in the US.

I'll post my predictions for who will win at the Oscars tonight in a little bit, but first there's the small matter of a couple of other awards to deal with first.

INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS

Yesterday- Saturday 25th February- saw the handing out of the Independent Spirit Awards, in a ceremony hosted by Nick Kroll (Loving, Sing, Vacation) and John Mulaney (Mayne Street, Saturday Night Live). These honour films made (partly or wholly) outside the major film studio system. Some of the winners are below.

Best Feature: Moonlight

Best Female Lead: Isabelle Huppert (Elle)

Best Male Lead: Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea)

Best Supporting Female: Molly Shannon (Other People)

Best Supporting Male: Ben Foster (Hell Or High Water)

Best Director: Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

Best Screenplay: Moonlight

Best First Screenplay: The Witch

Best Cinematography: Moonlight

Best First Feature: The Witch

Best International Film: Toni Erdmann

Best Documentary: O.J.: Made In America

John Cassavetes Award: Spa Night

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.

Moonlight was the big winner of the evening, with six awards (including the prestigious Robert Altman Award) Can it pull off what many would see as an upset by taking home the main prize at tonight's Oscars? That could indeed be a possibility. Casey Affleck adds another trophy to his haul (and almost certainly will add another one tonight), whilst wins for Toni Erdmann and O.J.: Made In America won't do their chances of Oscar glory any harm either. 

RAZZIES

The 37th Annual Golden Raspberry Awards were also handed out yesterday (in their now-traditional Oscars Eve ceremony).

Here's the full 'winners' list:

Worst Picture: Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party 

Worst Director: Dinesh D'Souza & Bruce Schooley (Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party) 

Worst Actor: Dinesh D'Souza [as Himself] (Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party) 

Worst Actress: Becky Turner [as Hillary Clinton]  (Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party) 

Worst Supporting Actor: Jesse Eisenberg (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) 

Worst Supporting Actress: Kristen Wiig (Zoolander No. 2) 

Worst Remake, Sequel Or Rip-Off: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Worst Screen Combo: Ben Affleck & Henry Cavill (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice)

Worst Screenplay: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Razzie Redeemer: Mel Gibson

Whilst I'm not surprised by the kicking that Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice got, at least it can count itself lucky in some respects. Hillary's America 'won' all bar one of its nominations and the co-director/writer/lead actor Dinesh D'Souza has responded to the wins (much in the same way he did to the nominations). This is the first time in the history of the Razzies that a documentary has won Best Picture.

The Razzie Redeemer wasn't voted on by the users of Rotten Tomatoes this year (they instead voted for Worst Screen Combo) but Gibson's work on Hacksaw Ridge does warrant praise. 

This just leaves the Oscars tonight. As promised, my predictions for the big winners will be coming soon.


Tez

Review: Hell Or High Water (UK Cert 15)

A surprise inclusion for the Best Picture Oscar, Hell Or High Water is a crime thriller-cum-Western, written by Taylor Sheridan (Sicario) and directed by David Mackenzie (Young Adam, Hallam Foe, Starred Up)

Brothers Toby and Tanner Howard are robbing banks. But not just any banks; they're only targeting branches of Texas Midland Bank. And they're not taking anything from the customers or the tellers; they're taking money from the banks themselves. After two robberies- where very little money has actually been stolen- Ranger Marcus Hamilton and his deputy Alberto Parker are handed the case. But why these branches? Why so little money? Where will they hit next? And can Hamilton and Parker stop them before they do?

Hell Or High Water is a bit of an odd fish, to be fair. It's part Western, part heist movie, part thriller, part social commentary, part action. Yet from this Frankenstein's Monster patchwork comes a thoughtful, well-made film that neatly balances the different genres into a mostly cohesive whole. The social commentary is nicely underplayed (no tubthumping here) whilst the Western setting is used to good effect. 

Chris Pine and Ben Foster play the Howard brothers, with Pine as the sensible, stoic Toby and Foster as the wilder, unpredictable Tanner. The camaraderie between the two is nice to see, and really helps to sell the family relationship. While Foster gets the more showy role (and excels at it), Pine gives a nuanced and restrained performance which is all the more powerful in relief to Foster's exuberance. Jeff Bridges is superb in his supporting role as the grizzled and curmudgeonly Hamilton, also forming a nice partnership with Gil Birmingham (who plays Parker). Hamilton is a grumpy old man, but still has an incisive and analytical mind- indeed, at one point, he works out the brothers' next move before they decide themselves. 

The film has been very well cast, even down to minor roles such as an old man in one of the first banks the brothers rob (Buck Taylor) and a hard-ass waitress at a T-Bone steak restaurant (Margaret Bowman). These minor characters not only add some levity to proceedings but really help to give the flavour of the Texan towns they're set in. 

The cinematography by Giles Nuttgens is particularly good, making the most of the impressive landscapes of New Mexico (doubling for Texas). The film also has a superb soundtrack- including original music by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis- but also using existing songs by Waylon Jennings, Scott H. Biram, Gillian Welch and Chris Stapleton to provide an evocative soundscape that really enhances the film.

I originally wanted to see the film when it was released in cinemas back in September but didn't get the chance. I picked it up on DVD and I'm glad I did. A solid, decent film.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Tez

Awards Season 2017: Academy Award Nominations

As announced earlier today, here is a selection of the nominations for the 89th Academy Awards:

BEST PICTURE

Arrival

Fences

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell Or High Water

Hidden Figures

La La Land

Lion

Manchester By The Sea

Moonlight

BEST DIRECTOR

Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge)

Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester By The Sea)

Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)

BEST ACTOR

Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea)

Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)

Ryan Gosling (La La Land)

Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)

Denzel Washington (Fences)

BEST ACTRESS

Isabelle Huppert (Elle)

Ruth Negga (Loving)

Natalie Portman (Jackie)

Emma Stone (La La Land)

Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

Jeff Bridges (Hell Or High Water)

Lucas Hedges (Manchester By The Sea)

Dev Patel (Lion)

Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Viola Davis (Fences)

Naomie Harris (Moonlight)

Nicole Kidman (Lion)

Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)

Michelle Williams (Manchester By The Sea)

A full list of nominees can be found here.

That's 32 out of 34 which is an all time record for me (94%)

Unsurprisingly, La La Land has swept the board with fourteen nominations (which equals the record held by All About Eve and Titanic). 

Meryl Streep also becomes the most nominated actress in Academy history, chalking up her twentieth nomination (and her sixteenth Best Actress nomination).

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story gets two nods (Sound Mixing and Visual Effects), while Doctor Strange is also nominated in the Visual Effects category. Animated film Kubo And The Two Strings pulls off a rare achievement in also being nominated for Visual Effects as well as Best Animated Feature. Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them gets two nominations but sadly nothing for Deadpool. Ah well, can't win them all. 

There's more awards season stuff happening later this week with the Producers' Guild (PGA) Awards on Saturday (28th January) and the Screen Actors' Guild (SAG) Awards on Sunday (29th January). There'll be a post about both of these on Monday.

Huge congratulations to all nominees!

Awards Season 2017: Tez's Official Academy Award Nomination Predictions

Tomorrow, the nominations for the 89th Academy Awards will be announced.

This year, the Academy will break with tradition and dispense with the usual early morning press conference in Beverly Hills. They'll still be announcing them ridiculously early (5.18am PST/1.18pm GMT) but will instead announce the nominations via a live stream on online and digital platforms. Announcing the nominees will be actors Brie Larson, Jennifer Hudson, and Ken Watanabe, director Jason Reitman, cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezski and AMPAS President Cheryl Boone Isaacs.

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. 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

Arrival

Fences

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell Or High Water

Hidden Figures

La La Land

Lion

Loving

Manchester By The Sea

Moonlight

BEST DIRECTOR

Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge)

Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester By The Sea)

Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)

BEST ACTOR

Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea)

Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)

Ryan Gosling (La La Land)

Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)

Denzel Washington (Fences)

BEST ACTRESS

Amy Adams (Arrival)

Ruth Negga (Loving)

Natalie Portman (Jackie)

Emma Stone (La La Land)

Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

Jeff Bridges (Hell Or High Water)

Hugh Grant (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Lucas Hedges (Manchester By The Sea)

Dev Patel (Lion)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Viola Davis (Fences)

Naomie Harris (Moonlight)

Nicole Kidman (Lion)

Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)

Michelle Williams (Manchester By The Sea)

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 28 out of 33.

As usual with my predictions, there's a few cast-iron guarantees, a few maybes and possibly a few WTFs. 

This year, it's been the Lead Actress category which has been really fluid with performances by Annette Bening (20th Century Women), Isabelle Huppert (Elle) and Emily Blunt (The Girl On The Train) also being mentioned, so I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised to see only 2 of my 5 picks nominated (Natalie Portman and Emma Stone are pretty much guaranteed a nod). If Meryl Streep is nominated for her role in Florence Foster Jenkins, that would be her twentieth- yes, twentieth- competitive acting Oscar nomination, more than any actress in the history of the Academy. I've included her in due to the Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA nods.  There's also always the chance that if Amy Adams is nominated tomorrow, it could be for Nocturnal Animals.

Joel Edgerton could get a nod for Best Actor for Loving; most likely to lose their place would then be either Viggo Mortensen or Denzel Washington.

Best Supporting Actor is fairly locked, I reckon, although there could always be a surprise nomination for Aaron Taylor-Johnson or Michael Shannon for Nocturnal Animals in place of Hugh Grant.

Best Director seems like it could be a place for surprises (see last year's nomination for Lenny Abrahamson for Room), although I'd say I think 3 of the 5 (Chazelle, Jenkins and Lonergan) are pretty secure. There could be surprise nods for Denzel Washington (Fences), Tom Ford (Nocturnal Animals) or maybe even Pablo Larrain (Jackie) or Theodore Melfi (Hidden Figures)

Guess we'll find out tomorrow!

Awards Season 2017: Writers' Guild Awards (WGA) Nominations

Yesterday (4th January) 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

Hell Or High Water

La La Land

Loving

Manchester By The Sea

Moonlight

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Arrival

Deadpool

Fences

Hidden Figures

Nocturnal Animals

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Author: The JT LeRoy Story

Command And Control

Zero Days

I'm really pleased to see Deadpool recognised, especially as the rest of the nominees are more traditional awards fare. Although, the WGA have previous form in this, giving Guardians Of The Galaxy a nomination in 2015.

Interestingly, AMPAS (a.k.a. The Academy) have stated that Moonlight and Loving will be classed as 'adapted screenplay' for their consideration, so hopefully the abominable script for Nocturnal Animals won't get a look in there.

More awards nonsense on Monday (9th February) with the Golden Globes results.