The Watchers Review Of 2020

 

The Watchers Review of 2020 is now available! You can listen to it via iTunes or Podbean.

In an unprecedented year, our review of the year is also somewhat different - we still talk about our favourite films of the year but also take a look at how the world of cinema has been affected by world events and what we're now looking forward to in 2021 (circumstances permitting, of course!)

Have a listen and let us know what your films of 2020 are, or what you're looking forward to in the new year!

Awards Season 2020: The 92nd Academy Awards

Well, colour me surprised! Always nice to have a curveball or two, considering a lot of the awards seemed to be foregone conclusions. Prior to Best Director, the biggest surprise of the evening was Le Mans '66 winning for Best Film Editing!

I really liked the opening number by Janelle Monáe (with a lovely cameo by Billy Porter). There were a few funny one-liners between Steve Martin and Chris Rock (especially with the pointed comment that the Oscars don't have a host because of Twitter) but it went on a bit too long. But, like last year, having no overall host worked well. 

As usual, some of the interactions between some of the individual hosts was patchy (Diane Keaton seemed on a different planet, whilst Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph, Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and James Corden and Rebel Wilson were just painful [although Corden and Wilson started off well taking a potshot at Cats]) but others were better: Mahershala Ali was great announcing the Best Supporting Actress category as was Olivia Colman announcing Best Actor, Ray Romano and Sandra Oh actually made me lauigh out loud when they presented Best Make-Up & Hairstyling, and Tom Hanks showed a great amount of humour when he announced that the long-awaited Academy Museum will open on December 14, 2020. If I ever make it to LA, I'll definitely look it up!

The musical performances were particularly noteworthy this year: there was a fantastic performance by Idina Menzel and an international cast of Elsa voice actors for Frozen II's 'Into The Unknown', and there was a fabulous montage about movie music which led to a powerful performance by Eminem performing his Oscar-winning Original Song 'Lose Yourself' from 8 Mile that brought the audience to their feet. Cynthia Erivo gave a soulful performance of 'Stand Up' from Harriet. I also particularly liked the energetic medley of the Best Original Score nominees, conducted by maestra Eímear Noone (the first time a woman has conducted at the Oscars in its 92 year history). There was also a very touching performance by Billie Eilish during the In Memoriam section. 

On to the awards themselves.

So, in my predictions, I got 4 out of 6. Got the acting categories right. Like many, I expected 1917 and Sam Mendes to win but there was something quite lovely about seeing both Parasite and Bong Joon Ho win; Bong's Best Director acceptance speech was very touching, especially the bit about splitting the award between all five nominees. Parasite made Oscars history by becoming the first film not in the English language to win Best Picture; it's also the first film from South Korea to be nominated for the newly-renamed Best International Feature Film and also to win it! 

Hildur Guðnadóttir also made Oscars history by becoming the first Icelandic person to win an Oscar, taking the Best Original Score for Joker. Her acceptance speech was quite lovely as well. I thought it was very touching that Elton John and Bernie Taupin won Best Original Song for Rocketman, celebrating their partnership of over 50 years. 

In his acceptance speech, Brad Pitt rightly mentioned the work of the stunt crews (and they really should have an award for that). There was a wonderfully humble speech by Best Documentary Feature winner Julia Reichert, giving proper respect to her fellow nominees which was nice. I was absolutely chuffed at Roger Deakins' win for Best Cinematography for 1917; an incredibly well deserved win. 


Below is the full list of winners at the 92nd Academy Awards:


Best Motion Picture of the Year: Parasite

Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)

Best Actress: Renée Zellweger (Judy)

Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood)

Best Supporting Actress: Laura Dern (Marriage Story)

Best Director: Bong Joon Ho (Parasite)

Best Original Screenplay: Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won (Parasite)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit)

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: Toy Story 4

Best International Feature Film of the Year: Parasite

Best Cinematography: 1917

Best Film Editing: Le Mans '66 [a.k.a. Ford V Ferrari]

Best Production Design: Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood

Best Costume Design: Little Women

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Bombshell

Best Original Score: Joker

Best Original Song: '(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again' (Rocketman)

Best Sound Mixing: Le Mans '66 [a.k.a. Ford V Ferrari]

Best Sound Editing: 1917

Best Visual Effects: 1917

Best Documentary (Feature): American Factory

Best Documentary (Short Subject): Learning To Skateboard In A Warzone (If You're A Girl)

Best Animated Short Film: Hair Love

Best Live Action Short Film: The Neighbors' Window

In terms of how many awards won by each film, it's quite an even spread; all bar one of the nine Best Picture nominees took home at least one Oscar apiece. Parasite is the big winner of the evening, winning four awards, with 1917 taking home three. 

Despite multiple nominations, The Irishman, Harriet, The Two Popes, Pain And Glory, and Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker all walked away empty-handed. Given that The Irishman was one of the most nominated films (10 nods, and the only Best Picture nominee not to win anything), that must smart somewhat. 

Congratulations to all winners!


Now if you'll excuse me, it's 5:15am in the UK and I could really do with some sleep... Hopefully that cafetiere of strong coffee I had around midnight won't stop that happening. 

Awards Season 2020: Tez's Official Oscar Predictions

Tonight, the great and good of Hollywood will convene to celebrate the best of film-making in 2019 at the 92nd Academy Awards.

As with last year, there will be no main host again this year. Personally, I liked this approach. It cut down unnecessary faffing around and brought the runtime of the show down to a manageable three-and-a-bit hours. OK, some of the guest presenter 'banter' was dreadful but that's par for the course with things like this. Last year opened with Queen and Adam Lambert absolutely smashing it, so hopefully there'll be a similar high-energy start to tonight's proceedings.

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 (as Olivia Colman and Green Book took the respective prizes, instead of Glenn Close and Roma). I have a feeling there'll be less of a surprise tonight...

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

Best Supporting Actress: Laura Dern (Marriage Story)

With a SAG Award, Critics' Choice Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe already in the bag for her role as divorce lawyer Nora Fanshaw, it's going to be unlikely to hear anyone else's name. And rightly so. Dern's performance is superb (in a film full of superb performances); her amazing rant about the disparity between mothers and fathers- that women are meant to be perfect and woe betide if they're not, whilst men can get away with being lazy parents- is a particular highlight. Dern doesn't play a stereotypical hard bitch- she's warm, empathetic, but totally committed to getting what's right and fair for Nicole (Scarlett Johansson).

Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood)

I'll be honest with you: I didn't rate Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood at all. I found it overlong, self-indulgent and fairly offensive in places. And, with further honesty, Pitt's performance as stuntman Cliff Booth who may (or may not) have killed his wife is easily my least favourite of the five that have been nominated. But, like Dern, he's swept the boards so it feels like it's his turn.

Best Actress: Renée Zellweger (Judy)

Whilst the film itself is a bit patchy and several scenes just feel too fantastical or made-up, there's no denying that it's a powerhouse performance by Zellweger as the incomparable Judy Garland. Playing Garland's insecurity and passion to the hilt, it's the kind of performance that Oscars are made for. It never feels showy or look-at-me-I'm-acting-ma, Zellweger disappears into the icon and gives her life.

Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)

I would dearly, dearly, DEARLY love Jonathan Pryce's name to be read out in this category but I don't see it happening. As with all of my other acting predictions, Phoenix has swept the awards boards so it feels like a bit of a foregone conclusion. Despite what I think about the film (and my opinions on it are well known if you read the blog or listen to the podcast), I do concede that Phoenix puts in a committed performance as stand-up comedian Arthur Fleck who becomes the Clown Prince of Crime. Is the film deserving of this accolade? I'm not sure. Is Phoenix? Yes. 

Best Director: Sam Mendes (1917)

Best Picture: 1917

Aside from sharing the Critics' Choice award with Bong Joon Ho, Mendes has been the standout winner in the director category for 1917, scooping the Golden Globes, the BAFTA and (importantly) the Directors' Guild Award. Again, it feels like a foregone conclusion for him to snag his second Best Director Oscar (20 years after winning for American Beauty). 

The lack of a Best Film Editing nomination for 1917 feels egregious, because a lot of the work of making it look like a single take is done in the editing suite, but veteran cinematographer Roger Deakins thoroughly deserves his nod (and deserves to win). As a film, 1917 isn't just style over substance; you're on the soldiers' side as they race against time to stop a battalion from walking into an ambush. Buoyed up by a stellar cast (including Colin Firth, Andrew Scott, and Benedict Cumberbatch), these are [or should be] star-making roles for George Mackay and Dean-Charles Chapman. The film is technically assured and has a heart behind it. It would be a truly deserving Best Picture winner.

Hopefully I'll be watching the broadcast live in the early hours of Monday morning, and I'll post as soon as I can with my thoughts about the ceremony and all the winners.

Awards Season 2020: BAFTA Film Awards Winners

So, as it turns out, I didn't get to see the BAFTA Film Awards until this morning. 

Therefore, it was yesterday evening (2nd February 2020), at the Royal Albert Hall, that the 73rd British Academy Film Awards were given out in a star-studded ceremony, hosted by Graham Norton, hosting for the first time. 

Saoirse Ronan, Al Pacino, Hugh Grant, Quentin Tarantino, George Mackay, Robert De Niro, Sam Mendes, Daniel Kaluuya, Florence Pugh, Taron Egerton, Charlize Theron, Naomie Harris, Richard E. Grant, Gillian Anderson, Jonathan Pryce, Zazie Beetz, Ian McKellen, Scarlett Johansson and Margot Robbie were among some of the stars in attendance to celebrate the best in film.

Here's a full list of BAFTA winners:

Best Film: 1917

Outstanding British Film: 1917

Leading Actor: Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)

Leading Actress: Renée Zellweger (Judy)

Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood)

Supporting Actress: Laura Dern (Marriage Story)

Director: Sam Mendes (1917)

Original Screenplay: Parasite

Adapted Screenplay: Jojo Rabbit

Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer: Mark Jenkin (writer/director), Kate Byers and Linn Waite (producers) (Bait)

Animated Film: Klaus

Documentary: For Sama

Film Not In The English Language: Parasite

Cinematography: 1917

Costume Design: Little Women

Editing: Le Mans '66 [Ford V Ferrari]

Make Up And Hair: Bombshell

Original Music: Joker

Production Design: 1917

Sound: 1917

Special Visual Effects: 1917

Casting: Joker

Short Animation: Grandad was a romantic.

Short Film: Learning To Skateboard In A Warzone (If You're A Girl)

Rising Star: Micheal Ward

Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema: Andy Serkis

BAFTA Fellowship: Kathleen Kennedy

The usual names in the usual positions. I don't think there'll be many surprises come Oscar night. This isn't to denigrate any of the performances as they are all engaging (even if the film around them is shonky). This is the first year that BAFTA have recognised achievement in film casting. It's an incredibly important part of the movie-making process, yet it feels egregious that there's still no recognition for stunt work or vocal performances. This should be sorted. 

1917 was the big winner of the night, with seven BAFTAs (all very well deserved). Joker got three, and Parasite got two. Despite multiple nominations, The Irishman, The Two Popes, Rocketman and Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker all walked away empty-handed. 

Congratulations to all winners!


This coming weekend (8th-9th February) will be busy, as it's Oscars weekend. Before that though, there's the Independent Spirit Awards ceremony and the Razzie nominations. Busy, busy, busy...

Awards Season 2020: Directors' Guild Awards (DGA) Winners

A quick awards update as this past weekend (Saturday 25th January), the Directors' Guild Awards (DGA) were handed out. The film winners are:

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Films: Sam Mendes (1917)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director: Alma Har'el (Honey Boy)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Miniseries: Johan Renck (Chernobyl)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary: Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert (American Factory)

Congratulations to all winners!

This coming weekend, more awards stuff with the Writers' Guild Awards (WGA) on Saturday 1st February and the BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday 2nd February.

Awards Season 2020: Producers' Guild Awards (PGA) Winners

Just a quick awards update today, to share the winners from last night's Producers Guild Awards (PGA). The film winners are:

Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures: 1917

Documentary Film: Apollo 11

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures: Toy Story 4

A review of 1917 is forthcoming, so I won't say much, except for this win is very well-deserved (and this bodes well for the film taking the Best Picture Oscar in a few weeks' time). I haven't seen the other films so can't comment. 

Congratulations to all winners!

More awards stuff next weekend, as the Directors Guild Awards (DGA) are on Saturday (25th January) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards are on Sunday (26th January).

Awards Season 2020: Academy Award Nominations

As announced earlier today, here is a selection of the nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards:

BEST PICTURE

1917

The Irishman

Jojo Rabbit

Joker

Le Mans '66 [a.k.a. Ford V Ferrari]

Little Women

Marriage Story

Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood

Parasite

BEST DIRECTOR

Bong Joon Ho (Parasite)

Sam Mendes (1917)

Todd Phillips (Joker)

Martin Scorsese (The Irishman)

Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood)

BEST ACTOR

Antonio Banderas (Pain And Glory)

Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood)

Adam Driver (Marriage Story)

Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)

Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes)

BEST ACTRESS

Cynthia Erivo (Harriet)

Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story)

Saoirse Ronan (Little Women)

Charlize Theron (Bombshell)

Renée Zellweger (Judy)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood)

Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes)

Al Pacino (The Irishman)

Joe Pesci (The Irishman)

Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Kathy Bates (Richard Jewell)

Laura Dern (Marriage Story)

Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit)

Florence Pugh (Little Women)

Margot Robbie (Bombshell)

A full list of nominees can be found here.

So, I make that 30/34 (88%). Pretty happy with that. Hell, I didn't mind being wrong to see Jonathan Pryce get nominated for The Two Popes. I'm not surprised to see Todd Phillips get a Best Director nod, but it certainly wouldn't have been my choice. 

Fun fact: Scarlett Johansson is the first actor since 2007 to be nominated in both Lead and Supporting acting categories (the last one to do so was Cate Blanchett). 

By my reckoning, Joker leads the nominations with 11, whilst 1917, Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, and The Irishman all get 10 apiece. 

Congratulations to all nominees!


The 92nd Academy Awards will be held on Sunday 9th February 2020. As was reported this week, there'll be no main host again for this year's ceremony. I personally felt that it worked well with no host, so I'll be interested to see if it works again. 

Awards Season 2020: Critics' Choice Movie Award Winners

A big day for awards season fans with the Oscar nominations out later, but there's more awards news before then as yesterday (Sunday 12th January) this year's Critics' Choice Awards were handed out. 

Here's a full list of film winners:

Best Picture: Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood

Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)

Best Actress: Renée Zellweger (Judy)

Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood)

Best Supporting Actress: Laura Dern (Marriage Story)

Best Acting Ensemble: The Irishman

Best Director: Sam Mendes (1917) and Bong Joon Ho (Parasite) (tie)

Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 4

Best Original Screenplay: Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood 

Best Adapted Screenplay: Little Women

Best Comedy: Dolemite Is My Name

Best Action Movie: Avengers: Endgame

Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie: Us

Best Foreign Language Film: Parasite

Best Score: Joker

Best Song: 'Glasgow (No Place Like Home)' (Wild Rose) and '(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again' (Rocketman) (tie)

Best Production Design: Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood

Best Editing: 1917

Best Costume Design: Dolemite Is My Name

Best Hair & Makeup: Bombshell

Best Visual Effects: Avengers: Endgame

Best Cinematography: 1917

Best Young Actor/Actress: Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit)


Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood was the big winner of the night with four awards, with 1917 taking home three. 

Congratulations to all winners!

Awards Season 2020: Tez's Official Academy Award Nomination Predictions

Tomorrow morning, the nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards will be announced. This year, they will be announced by John Cho (Star Trek Beyond, Searching) and Issa Rae (The Hate U Give, Insecure). 

As has been my practice for the last few years (well, since 2003), 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

1917

Bombshell

The Irishman

Jojo Rabbit

Joker

Knives Out

Little Women

Marriage Story

Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood 

Parasite

BEST DIRECTOR

Bong Joon Ho (Parasite)

Sam Mendes (1917)

Martin Scorsese (The Irishman)

Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood)

Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit)

BEST ACTOR

Antonio Banderas (Pain And Glory)

Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood)

Adam Driver (Marriage Story)

Taron Egerton (Rocketman)

Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)

BEST ACTRESS

Cynthia Erivo (Harriet)

Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story)

Saoirse Ronan (Little Women)

Charlize Theron (Bombshell)

Renée Zellweger (Judy)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood)

Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes)

Al Pacino (The Irishman)

Joe Pesci (The Irishman)

Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Laura Dern (Marriage Story)

Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit)

Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers)

Florence Pugh (Little Women)

Margot Robbie (Bombshell)

Usually a score of 15 is adequate, but given the fact that there could be anywhere between 5 and 10 Best Picture awards, I’ll be happy with a prediction of 18 or higher. Last year, I got 28/33 as I tripped up on the Best Director category, and the acting nominations for Roma. 

There's a good chance that both the Director and Actor categories could contain a few curveballs. I've gone with Taika Waititi for Director (due to the DGA nod) but I won't be surprised if Todd Phillips sneaks it for Joker. There's always the chance they throw everyone for a loop and go for Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story) or Greta Gerwig (Little Women).

Best Actor could see some surprises with Adam Sandler (Uncut Gems), Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes), Robert De Niro (The Irishman) and Christian Bale (Le Mans '66 [Ford V Ferrari]) all in contention at some point or another. Similarly, whilst I think Best Actress is fairly secure, Lupita Nyong'o could get a nod in place of Saiorse Ronan for her turn in Us. 

I'll be waiting with bated breath tomorrow afternoon (luckily, it's the more palatable time of 1:20pm here when they're announced) and a post will follow shortly afterwards with the official nominations.

Awards Season 2020: Producers' Guild Awards (PGA) and Directors' Guild Awards (DGA) Nominations

As if the BAFTA announcement wasn't enough awards news for one day, two of the major awards Guilds have also announced their nominations yesterday (7th January). Blimey, it's like they've got a shortened timeframe this year or something...

PRODUCERS' GUILD AWARDS (PGA)

First up, we have the Producers' Guild Awards (very handy for working out the Best Picture Oscar nominees):

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

1917

The Irishman

Jojo Rabbit

Joker

Knives Out

Le Mans' 66 [a.k.a. Ford V Ferrari]

Little Women

Marriage Story

Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood

Parasite

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures

Abominable

Frozen II

How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Missing Link

Toy Story 4

Documentary Film (previously announced)

Advocate

American Factory

Apollo 11

The Cave

For Sama

Honeyland

One Child Nation

The PGAs will be given out on Saturday 18th January 2020

* * * 

DIRECTORS' GUILD AWARDS (DGA)

The nominees for this year's Directors' Guild Awards were also announced as well. Here are the nominees in the Feature Film category:

Bong Joon Ho (Parasite)

Sam Mendes (1917)

Martin Scorsese (The Irishman)

Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood)

Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit)

Interesting that the DGA have nominated Taika Waititi- this is his first major awards nomination for directing Jojo Rabbit (I was expecting Todd Phillips to be named, to be honest). I wonder if the Academy will do likewise?

The DGAs will be awarded on Saturday 25th January 2020


Congratulations to all nominees!


After a couple of busy days of awards stuff, there's a few days of respite now before it all kicks off again on Sunday (12th January) which will see the winners of the Critics' Choice Awards being announced. Then Monday (13th January), this year's Oscar nominations will be revealed. 

[And if you're wondering where the Razzie nominations are in all of this (usually announced the day before the Oscars are), they're marching to the beat of their own drum this year- accelerated Oscars calendar be damned- and not announcing the NOMINATIONS until Saturday 8th February 2020.] 

Awards Season 2020: BAFTA Film Awards Nominations

Morning!

An early start today, as the nominations for the 2020 BAFTA Film Awards were announced at 7:35(ish) GMT by Ella Balinska (Charlie's Angels) and Asa Butterfield (Hugo)

Here's a selection of the nominees:

BEST FILM

1917

The Irishman

Joker

Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood 

Parasite

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

1917

Bait

For Sama

Rocketman

Sorry We Missed You

The Two Popes

LEADING ACTOR

Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood)

Adam Driver (Marriage Story)

Taron Egerton (Rocketman)

Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)

Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes)

LEADING ACTRESS

Jessie Buckley (Wild Rose)

Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story)

Saoirse Ronan (Little Women)

Charlize Theron (Bombshell)

Renée Zellweger (Judy)

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood)

Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes)

Al Pacino (The Irishman)

Joe Pesci (The Irishman)

Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Laura Dern (Marriage Story)

Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit)

Florence Pugh (Little Women)

Margot Robbie (Bombshell)

Margot Robbie (Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood)

DIRECTOR

Bong Joon Ho (Parasite)

Sam Mendes (1917)

Todd Phillips (Joker)

Martin Scorsese (The Irishman)

Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood)

A full list of nominees can be found here.

Joker leads the nominations with 11, whilst The Irishman and Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood have 10 apiece, and 1917 has nine. 

There's always a British slant to the BAFTAs (go figure), plus there's always the issue of film eligibility or release, so some of the choices here may seem like outliers. Personally, I'm quite chuffed to see The Two Popes feature as much as it does. Interestingly, BAFTA are the first major awards body to recognise Margot Robbie's performance in Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood; all the others have given her the nod for Bombshell instead. 

The nominees for the 2020 Rising Star award - the only BAFTA awarded by public vote- have also been announced: Awkwafina, Kaitlyn Dever, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Jack Lowden, and Micheal Ward. Find out more about them, and cast your vote here. 

The BAFTAs will be handed out on Sunday 2nd February 2020 in a ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in London, hosted by Graham Norton for the first time.

Congratulations to all nominees!


More awards news later today as two of the major guilds- Producers' and Directors'- announce their nominations.

Awards Season 2020: Writers' Guild Awards (WGA) Nominations

This is just a brief update to tell you about the nominees for this year's Writers' Guild Awards (WGA), which were announced earlier today. 

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1917

Booksmart

Knives Out

Marriage Story

Parasite

Happy to see both Knives Out and Marriage Story included here, as they both have very strong screenplays (I haven't seen the others, but 1917 is out in the UK this weekend and it's definitely on my list).

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

The Irishman

Jojo Rabbit

Joker

Little Women

Considering a lot of my issues with Joker are down to the script, I'm a little underwhelmed to see it included here. However the screenplays for A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood and The Irishman are both superb (and I'll hopefully see the other two nominees shortly). 

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Citizen K

Foster

The Inventor: Out For Blood In Silicon Valley

Joseph Pulitzer: Voice Of The People

The Kingmaker

Documentarian Alex Gibney (Taxi To The Dark Side) has two nods here- Citizen K and The Inventor- so he's automatically got a 40% chance of winning. 


The Writers' Guild Awards will be handed out on Saturday 1st February 2020. 

Congratulations to all nominees!


And if you thought two awards season posts in one day was excessive... I got bad news for ya, kid. There'll be another two coming tomorrow

There's a triple whammy of awards nominations happening on Tuesday: early morning, there'll be the announcement of the 2020 BAFTA Film Awards (usually around 7:30am GMT; not sure if I'll catch it live or not) whilst the Directors' Guild Awards (DGA) and the Producers' Guild Awards (PGA) also announce their nominations too! I'll combine the two Guild Awards into one post (I'm nice like that)

Awards Season 2020: Golden Globes Winners

Last night (Sunday 5th January 2020), the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) announced the winners of the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards, for both television and film, in a ceremony hosted by Ricky Gervais for the fifth (and possibly final) time.

Here is the full list of film winners.

Best Motion Picture (Drama): 1917

Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood

Best Director: Sam Mendes (1917)

Best Actor (Drama): Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)

Best Actor (Comedy or Musical): Taron Egerton (Rocketman)

Best Actress (Drama): Renée Zellweger (Judy)

Best Actress (Comedy or Musical): Awkwafina (The Farewell)

Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood)

Best Supporting Actress: Laura Dern (Marriage Story)

Best Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood)

Best Original Score: Hildur Guðnadóttir (Joker)

Best Original Song: 'I'm Gonna Love Me Again' (Rocketman)

Best Foreign Language Film: Parasite

Best Animated Feature Film: Missing Link

Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award: Tom Hanks


Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood was the big winner of the night with three Globes, with 1917, Rocketman and Joker with two apiece. Absolutely nothing for The Irishman, which is interesting. 

A couple of nice surprises- Missing Link winning Animated Feature over Frozen II and Toy Story 4, and Taron Egerton getting the Best Actor (Musical/Comedy) for Rocketman, particularly. Acting awards for Zellweger, Pitt, and Dern shore them up nicely for a potential Oscar win, although it's never actually a guarantee. 

It was an evening of firsts: Parasite became the first Korean movie to win the Best Foreign Language Film Golden Globe, whilst Hildur Guðnadóttir becomes the first solo female winner of Best Score, and Awkwafina is the first actress of Asian descent to win the Best Actress (Musical/Comedy).

Congratulations to all winners!

There'll be more awards news a little later today with the announcement of this year's Writers Guild Awards.