Awards Season 2025: Writers' Guild Awards (WGA), and Producers Guild Awards (PGA) Nominations

As I noted at the end of the blogpost yesterday, there were still a couple of the guild award nominations due to be announced, having been postponed from their original announcement dates due to the LA wildfires. Well, with little fanfare, they have both now been announced. 

WRITERS GUILD AWARDS (WGA)

This year's nominees for the WGA Awards were announced yesterday afternoon (15th January). Here they are:

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

A Real Pain

Anora

Challengers

Civil War

My Old Ass

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

A Complete Unknown

Dune: Part Two

Hit Man

Nickel Boys

Wicked

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Jim Henson: Idea Man

Kiss The Future

Martha

War Game

I don't ever try to predict any of the nominees for the screenplay categories, but I do have an interest on which scripts get nominated. Last year, the WGA announced their nominees and winners outside of the usual awards season window, so I didn't end up including them in my countdown (for anyone interested, the winners were The Holdovers for Original Screenplay, American Fiction for Adapted Screenplay, and The Pigeon Tunnel [about John le Carré] for Documentary)

However, the WGA Awards aren't as good a predictor as some other guild awards because of the eligibility criteria to be nominated for one. Eligibility for the Writers Guild Awards is restricted to screenplays that were written under the guild’s Minimum Basic Agreement or under related agreements from affiliated international guilds.

This does mean that many screenplays that are eligible to be nominated for the Oscars aren't eligible for the WGA Awards. So, for instance, the screenplays for a lot of movies that have featured heavily in other awards ceremonies won't get a WGA nod: these include (deep breath) The Brutalist, The Substance, Hard Truths, September 5, All We Imagine As Light, Conclave, Emilia Pérez, Sing Sing, I’m Still Here, The Piano Lesson, Inside Out 2, The Outrun, Nosferatu, Nightbitch, Saturday Night, Babygirl, and Heretic. Given that there are only five slots in each category (Original and Adapted), there's a lot of these movie that won't get a look-in. But it'll be interesting to see how the Academy goes with it. 

The Writers Guild Awards will take place on Saturday 15th February 2025. 

PRODUCERS' GUILD AWARDS (PGA)

This year's PGA Awards nominees were announced today (16th January). The film nominees are as follows:

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

Anora

A Complete Unknown

A Real Pain

The Brutalist

Conclave

Dune: Part Two

Emilia Pérez

September 5

The Substance

Wicked

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures

Flow

Inside Out 2

Moana 2

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

The Wild Robot

Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures 

(previously announced)

Gaucho Gaucho

Mediha

Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa

Porcelain War

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

We Will Dance Again

The inclusion of September 5 and A Real Pain is a bit of a surprise in the "Theatrical Motion Picture" category, as (in terms of Best Picture nods) they only featured as nominees at the Golden Globes but have been absent elsewhere, whereas films such as Sing Sing and Nickel Boys have appeared more frequently (with both garnering Critics' Choice and Independent Spirit Award noms).

However, with the exception of last year, the ten PGA and ten Oscar Best Picture nominees aren't always 100% identical. There's usually around an 80% crossover, which I see potentially happening here. 

Chuffed to see both Inside Out 2 and Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl included in the "Animated Theatrical Motion Picture" category; I thoroughly enjoyed both films. I am intrigued to try and see Flow if I can as it sounds very interesting. 

The PGA Awards ceremony is due to take place on Saturday 8th February 2025.

Congratulations to all nominees!

I think, if all is up-to-date, our next Awards Season stop is going to be the announcement of the Razzie Awards nominations on Wednesday (22nd January). I'm fully expecting to see Joker: Folie à Deux, Madame Web, and Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey II (yep, they made a sequel) getting dishonoured. Should provide a bit of levity if nothing else. 

Awards Season 2025: BAFTA Film Awards Nominations

The nominations for the 78th British Academy (BAFTA) Film Awards were announced this afternoon, by Mia McKenna-Bruce (How To Have Sex, Persuasion) and Will Sharpe (The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain, Flowers)

Here's a selection of the nominees:

BEST FILM

Anora

A Complete Unknown

The Brutalist 

Conclave 

Emilia Pérez

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

Bird

Blitz

Conclave

Gladiator II

Hard Truths

Kneecap

Lee

Love Lies Bleeding

The Outrun

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

LEADING ACTOR

Adrien Brody (The Brutalist)

Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown)

Colman Domingo (Sing Sing)

Ralph Fiennes (Conclave)

Hugh Grant (Heretic) 

Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice)

LEADING ACTRESS 

Cynthia Erivo (Wicked)

Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Pérez)

Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths)

Mikey Madison (Anora)

Demi Moore (The Substance)

Saoirse Ronan (The Outrun)

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Yura Borisov (Anora)

Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)

Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin (Sing Sing) 

Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown)

Guy Pearce (The Brutalist)

Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jamie Lee Curtis (The Last Showgirl)

Selena Gomez (Emilia Pérez)

Ariana Grande-Butera (Wicked)

Felicity Jones (The Brutalist)

Isabella Rossellini (Conclave)

Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez)

DIRECTOR

Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez)

Sean Baker (Anora)

Edward Berger (Conclave)

Brady Corbet (The Brutalist)

Coralie Fargeat (The Substance)

Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two)

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

BAFTA previously announced longlists for all categories, so you can see what was in contention for nominations here.

Conclave leads the pack with an impressive 12 nominations, with Emilia Pérez close behind with 11. The Brutalist has nine.

There's a couple of interesting selections and omissions here. BAFTA tend to skew towards British talent, so it was no surprise to see Marianne Jean-Baptiste in contention for Best Actress or Felicity Jones in the Best Supporting Actress category. It was a surprise, however, not to see Daniel Craig nominated for Queer, which was shut out completely. I don't think this necessarily dents his chances of an Oscar nod, but it feels like an odd choice. In the categories I try to predict, a lot of the same names have come up - so even though this is a year without an anointed frontrunner (ie. no Oppenheimer or Everything Everywhere All At Once), the nominees at least might not be a surprise. 

The nominees for the 2025 Rising Star award - the only BAFTA awarded by public vote - have also been announced: this year's nominees are Marisa Abela (Back To Black), Jharrel Jerome (Unstoppable), David Jonsson (Alien: Romulus), Mikey Madison (Anora), and Nabhaan Rizwan (Station Eleven). Find out more about them, and cast your vote here.

The 78th BAFTA Film Awards will be handed out in just a month's time (on Sunday 16th February) in a ceremony to be hosted once again by the rather marvellous David Tennant. 

Congratulations to all nominees!

Understandably, given the scale of devastation happening in Los Angeles at the moment as the wildfires still burn, the nominations for several of the major awards have been postponed:

• Both the Producers Guild Awards (PGA) and the Writers Guild Awards (WGA) have pushed their nominations announcements back; no firm date has been given for either yet, but they are expected at some point this week. 
• The announcement of the Oscar nominations will take place on Thursday 23rd January 2025; this will now be a virtual event. Whilst the date of the nominations has been moved, the Oscar ceremony is still scheduled to be held on Sunday 2nd March.
• The Razzies have also shifted their nomination date to Wednesday 22nd January 2025, to keep step with the Oscars. 
• The Critics Choice Awards ceremony is now scheduled to take place in February, on a date to be confirmed. 

The blog will be updated with these nominations and results as they happen. Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by the fires, with particular gratitude towards the first responders and emergency service personnel working tirelessly to help contain the fires. 

Awards Season 2025: Screen Actors' Guild (SAG) Awards, and Directors Guild Awards (DGA) Nominations

It's a two-for-one kind of day when it comes to movie awards, so let's not beat around the bush; let's get right down to it!

SCREEN ACTORS' GUILD (SAG) AWARDS

This afternoon (Wednesday 8th January), the nominations for the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards were announced. Due to the fast-moving wildfires currently raging around the Los Angeles area, the in-person event which would have usually seen the nominations announced was cancelled (our of "an abundance of caution" and rightly so) and instead the nominees were confirmed via a press release. 

Below is the list of film nominations:

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

Anora

A Complete Unknown

Conclave

Emilia Pérez

Wicked

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Adrien Brody (The Brutalist)

Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown)

Daniel Craig (Queer)

Colman Domingo (Sing Sing)

Ralph Fiennes (Conclave)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Pamela Anderson (The Last Showgirl)

Cynthia Erivo (Wicked)

Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Pérez)

Mikey Madison (Anora)

Demi Moore (The Substance)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown)

Jamie Lee Curtis (The Last Showgirl)

Danielle Deadwyler (The Piano Lesson)

Ariana Grande-Butera (Wicked)

Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Jonathan Bailey (Wicked)

Yura Borisov (Anora)

Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)

Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown)

Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice)

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

Deadpool & Wolverine

Dune: Part Two

The Fall Guy

Gladiator II

Wicked

Wicked leads the pack with a whopping five nominations, with Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown in second place with four. Emilia Pérez and Anora both have three apiece. 

There's a couple of interesting curveballs in the SAG choices; this is the first awards recognition for Monica Barbaro (who plays musician Joan Baez in A Complete Unknown), Jamie Lee Curtis (who plays the best friend to Pamela Anderson's character in The Last Showgirl) and Jonathan Bailey (who plays Fiyero in Wicked). I think it's safe to say that the Best Actor Oscar category is pretty much locked. In fact, I'd say there's a strong core to each of the acting categories, but still room for some surprises. 

The SAG Awards will be handed out on Sunday 23rd February 2025, with the ceremony streaming on Netflix. Kristen Bell (The Good Place, Veronica Mars, Frozen) will be taking on host duties.  

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DIRECTORS GUILD AWARDS (DGA)

Wednesday also saw the announcement of the nominees for the 77th Directors' Guild Awards. The film nominees are as follows:

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film

Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez)

Sean Baker (Anora)

Edward Berger (Conclave)

Brady Corbet (The Brutalist)

James Mangold (A Complete Unknown)

Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film

Payal Kapadia (All We Imagine As Light)

Megan Park (My Old Ass)

RaMell Ross (Nickel Boys)

Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel (Armand)

Sean Wang (Didi)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary 

(previously announced)

Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev (Porcelain War)

Julian Brave Noisecat and Emily Kassie (Sugarcane) 

Johan Grimonprez (Soundtrack To A Coup D’etat)

Ibrahim Nash’at (Hollywoodgate)

Natalie Rae and Angela Patton (Daughters)

Interesting that the DGA have gone with James Mangold over Coralie Fargeat (The Substance). Will the Academy follow suit? We have to wait until next Friday to find that out. 

The DGA Awards will be give out on 8th February 2025.

Congratulations to all nominees!

There'll be a short post this coming Friday (10th January) when the Producers' Guild Awards (PGA) nominees will be announced. 

Awards Season 2025: Golden Globes Winners

Happy New Year to you all! Hopefully the festive season has been fun, relaxing and stress-free for you all, and 2025 has started off on the right foot. 

Last night (Sunday 5th January 2025), the winners of the 82nd Annual Golden Globe Awards, for both television and film. were announced, in a ceremony hosted by Nikki Glaser, who was the first solo female host in Golden Globes history. It was broadcast on CBS in the US. 

Here is the full list of film winners.

Best Motion Picture (Drama): The Brutalist

Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): Emilia Pérez

Best Director: Brady Corbet (The Brutalist)

Best Actor (Drama): Adrien Brody (The Brutalist)

Best Actor (Comedy or Musical): Sebastian Stan (A Different Man)

Best Actress (Drama): Fernanda Torres (I'm Still Here)

Best Actress (Comedy or Musical): Demi Moore (The Substance)

Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)

Best Supporting Actress: Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez)

Best Screenplay: Peter Straughan (Conclave)

Best Original Score: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Challengers)

Best Original Song: "El Mal" (Emilia Pérez)

Best Foreign Language Film: Emilia Pérez

Best Animated Feature Film: Flow

Cinematic And Box Office Achievement: Wicked

Cecil B. DeMille Award: Viola Davis

Emilia Pérez was the big winner of the night with four Golden Globes; the only other film to win multiple awards was The Brutalist, taking home three. Despite multiple nominations, Anora, The Wild Robot, A Complete Unknown, Gladiator II, and Dune: Part Two all went away with nothing.

After last year's host, Jo Koy, got roundly panned for his MCing stint, critical opinion has been much kinder to Nikki Glaser who made for an engaging and funny host. However, I think the best part of the evening was Demi Moore's powerful and touching acceptance speech where she explained that, despite being in the movie business for 45 years, she was described by a producer in the 1990s as "a 'popcorn' actress... I made that mean that this wasn't something that I was allowed to have, that I could do movies that were successful, that made a lot of money, but that I couldn't be acknowledged." I have a feeling that the Golden Globe for The Substance is only the first in several acknowledgements she will get for this daring and ever-so-slightly-fucked-up movie.  

There were a couple of surprises in the winners this year, particularly Flow, a Latvian film featuring no dialogue, beating Inside Out 2 and The Wild Robot for the Best Animated Feature award, and Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres taking the Best Actress (Drama) award ahead of Hollywood heavyweights like Nicole Kidman, Tilda Swinton and Kate Winslet for her performance in Walter Salles' political drama I'm Still Here. 

I was pleased to see the Best Screenplay award go to Conclave, as I thoroughly enjoyed that movie.

Up next for awards season, we get a 2-4-1 on Wednesday (8th January) with the announcement of not only the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards nominations, but also the Directors Guild Award (DGA) nominees.