Awards Season 2018: Tez's Official Oscar Predictions

Tonight, the great and good of Hollywood will convene to celebrate the best of film-making in 2016 at the 90th Academy Awards, which will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel for the second time. Hopefully there won't be anything as controversial as the La La Land/Moonlight mix-up (although Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty are returning to hand out Best Picture again!), but given everything that's happened in the intervening year (Weinstein, Spacey, #MeToo and #Time'sUp, not to mention a year of President Trump), I wouldn't bet on it!

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. 

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

Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Allison Janney has been the standout winner of the Best Supporting Actress awards throughout this awards season, with the Golden Globes, Screen Actors' Guild, Critics' Choice, BAFTA, and Independent Spirit Awards all giving her this honour for her brilliant, foul-mouthed performance as Tonya Harding's abusive and pretty loathsome mother LaVona. Never withou a cigarette or an insult on her lips, there's no attempt to soften or ameliorate the character. LaVona's a monster and Janney plays that to the hilt. 

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

Another standout winner of this awards season, Rockwell's turn as the dimwatt racist hick police officer Jason Dixon who butts heads with the force of nature that is Mildred Hayes has garnered accolades from most major awards bodies, so I really don't see the Academy giving it to anyone else. It would be very easy for Dixon to be played as a stereotype or as broad, but Rockwell's superb performance lifts him from just being the comic relief. 

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

21 years after winning the Best Actress Oscar for her role in Fargo, Frances McDormand could well be adding a second one to her collection for her powerhouse performance as grieving mother Mildred Hayes. Mildred is a gift of a character: forthright, angry, upset, guilty, frustrated, determined. McDormand takes the role with both hands and runs with it. An absolutely fantastic performance that should rightfully take home the gold tonight. 

Best Actor: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

I think a lot of people think this is a foregone conclusion. Oldman's performance as Winston Churchill is just superlative. Buried beneath some astonishing prosthetics, Oldman goes beyond mimicry to find an authentic and very believable take on Churchill. Whilst the film itself is a little patchy, you cannot deny that Oldman's performance is powerful. 

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

Apart from Jordan Peele at the Independent Spirit Awards, all other bodies have given Best Director to Guillermo del Toro and that pattern is more than likely to repeat tonight- and it'll be incredibly well deserved. The world del Toro has created in The Shape Of Water is sublime, he gets strong performances from his entire cast, and the visual aspects of the film are stunning. 

Best Picture: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Now, this is the one I'm torn on. Basically, I'm of the opinion that it is between Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Shape Of Water for the big award. Both films have their merits and both films have taken the Best Picture prizes at various other awards ceremonies. So, I won't be at all surprised if I'm wrong and The Shape Of Water wins (although I'm not sure whether the older generation of Academy voters may find the implication of a woman falling in love with an aquatic creature distasteful). But for me, given the climate that we're currently in- where race and gender equality are firmly in the spotlight- I think the Academy will back Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. 

As for some of the other categories, I think it'll be Phantom Thread for Best Costume Design, Call Me By Your Name for Best Adapted Screenplay, Coco for Best Animated Feature and 'Remember Me' for Best Original Song (although I preferred 'This Is Me' from The Greatest Showman personally). 

I'll be watching live tonight to watch all the action unfold from the Dolby Theatre. I'll do a post tomorrow with my thoughts on the ceremony and a list of all the winners. 

Now for some industrial strength caffeine to help me power through!

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: BAFTA Film Awards Winners

Tonight (Sunday 18th February), at the Royal Albert Hall, the 71st British Academy Film Awards were given out in a star-studded ceremony, hosted by the frankly wonderful Joanna Lumley for the first time. 

Julie Walters, Kristin Scott Thomas, Daniel Day-Lewis, Salma Hayek, Lesley Manville, Daniel Kaluuya, Margot Robbie, Gary Oldman, Sam Rockwell, Sally Hawkins, Annette Bening, Willem Dafoe, Timothee Chalamet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Frances McDormand, and Hugh Grant were among some of the stars in attendance to celebrate the best in film.

Here's a full list of BAFTA winners:

Best Film: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Outstanding British Film: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Leading Actor: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

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

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

Supporting Actress: Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Director: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape Of Water)

Original Screenplay: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Adapted Screenplay: Call Me By Your Name

Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer: Rungano Nyoni (writer/director), Emily Morgan (producer) (I Am Not A Witch)

Animated Film: Coco

Documentary: I Am Not Your Negro

Film Not In The English Language: The Handmaiden

Cinematography: Blade Runner 2049

Costume Design: Phantom Thread

Editing: Baby Driver

Make Up And Hair: Darkest Hour

Original Music: The Shape Of Water

Production Design: The Shape Of Water

Sound: Dunkirk

Special Visual Effects: Blade Runner 2049

Short Animation: Poles Apart

Short Film: Cowboy Dave

Rising Star: Daniel Kaluuya

Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema: National Film And Television School

BAFTA Fellowship: Ridley Scott


The evening started with a dazzling display by Circe du Soleil, based on The Shape Of Water. Joanna Lumley was great as host, having an easy charm and handling some of the less well constructed links with aplomb. Many speeches referred the Time's Up movement, and many actresses were dressed in black (as at the Golden Globes). Guillermo del Toro's speech was touching, citing his admiration for Mary Shelley, whilst Ridley Scott's fellowship acceptance was also good- talking about the importance of teachers- although Frances McDormand's acceptance speech was probably the highlight of the evening. 

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri was the big winner of the night, taking home five awards, with The Shape Of Water winning three, and Darkest Hour and Blade Runner 2049 with two each. 

Congratulations to all winners!

There's another break now in the awards season calendar- you get about 2 weeks off from all this nonsense- but it leads up to a busy weekend as the Film Independent Spirit Awards and the Golden Raspberry Awards will be handed out on Saturday 3rd March, with the main event- the 90th Academy Awards- a day later on Sunday 4th March. 

Almost there, people. Almost there!

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. 

Awards Season 2018: Producers' Guild Awards (PGA) Winners and Screen Actors' Guild (SAG) Awards Winners

This is the first of three awards season posts that'll be coming up today, so without further ado, let's get get on with it. We start with a couple of Guild Awards winners. 

PRODUCERS' GUILD AWARDS (PGA) WINNERS

On Saturday 20th January, the Producers' Guild of America announced its winners for the 2018 Producers' Guild Awards. 

The film winners are:

Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures: The Shape Of Water

Documentary Film: Jane

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures: Coco


This is a major step forward for The Shape Of Water's chances of netting Best Picture at the Oscars, although it's far from a done deal. I'm also not surprised to see Coco win for the Animated Feature. 

SCREEN ACTORS' GUILD (SAG) AWARDS WINNERS

Yesterday (21st January), the Screen Actors' Guild Awards were announced. Here are the film winners:

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture: 

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role: 

Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role: 

Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role: 

Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role: 

Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Film:

Wonder Woman

The usual suspects, all present and correct. 


Later today, the nominations for this year's Razzie Awards will be announced, so look out for them later.

Review: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (UK Cert 15)

What would you do if a loved one died and the authorities were lax in their handling of the case? Would you complain to your local politican? Write letters? Or would you hire billboards in your town calling the police out on their inaction? For one grieving mother, that's exactly what she does in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, a darkly comic drama written and directed by Martin McDonagh (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths)

Eight months ago, Mildred Hayes' daughter Angela was killed in a truly horrific manner. However, the investigation has yet to turn up any credible leads. Tired of no progress in the case, Mildred decides to take matters into her own hands. Hiring three disused billboards on a mostly unused road just outside the town, Mildred puts up a stark message to the Ebbing police to induce them to solve Angela's murder. This sets her on a collision course with the police and other townsfolk who- whilst sympathetic to her plight- see the billboards as unneeded aggression. But Mildred's not backing down without a fight...

Frances McDormand plays Mildred with a mix of steely reserve and brittleness. Still grieving for the loss of her daughter, frustrated with any lack of progress, she sweeps through Ebbing like an avenging (or exterminating) angel, pushing buttons and putting people's backs up. And she could care less. She gives the local reverend short shrift when he comes to appeal to her to take the billboards down (in one of the strongest scenes of the film) and even defends herself against an angry dentist with a well-placed drill to the fingernail. Yet there are moments when the grief overtakes her and you genuinely feel for the character.  It's an absolutely superb performance from McDormand who- with the Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Awards already under her belt- is frontrunner to add a second little gold man to her mantelpiece come March. 

Woody Harrelson gives strong support as police chief Bill Willoughby, fighting Mildred's ire whilst dealing with his own personal tragedy. Whilst he's only in the film for the first half, his presence is felt throughout and he puts in a stoic, funny turn. Sam Rockwell is great as the dimwitted racist Officer Jason Dixon who butts heads with Mildred more than once. An arrogant drunkard momma's boy, Dixon swaggers through the town thinking he's untouchable- until even he crosses a line. It could easily be a one-note performance but there are layers to Rockwell's performance that elevate the character from just an archetypal racist hick. 

Lucas Hedges (so good in Manchester By The Sea) is similarly great as Mildred's son Robbie. Whilst dealing with his own grief, he must also look out for his mother as she wages her war of attrition against the cops, and- for me- gets one of the best one-liners in the film. Peter Dinklage puts in a decent turn as the lovelorn car salesman James, whilst John Hawkes appears fleetingly but powerfully as Mildred's violent ex-husband Charlie. There's also nice performances by Abbie Cornish as Bill's wife Anne, Caleb Landry Jones as billboard letter Red Welby, and Samara Weaving as Charlie's new, younger, dumber girlfriend. 

The script is ferocious, funny, and foul-mouthed, with some stingingly baroque insults thrown around. It touches on issues of race- Dixon is accused of having tortured a black suspect- but doesn't fully explore them (although that would make this a much different film). Whilst there isn't a feeling of definitive closure at the end of the film, there is a sense of an ending as Mildred and Dixon ponder their next moves. Ben Davis' cinematography is superb, especially with the evocative shots of the Missouri countryside- the opening shots of the derelict billboards wreathed in early morning mist is particularly striking- whilst Carter Burwell's spaghetti Western inspired score and a truly eclectic soundtrack (ranging from 'Chiquitita' to 'The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down') adds to the mood of the film. 

Well-acted, well-written, well-directed, it's not difficult to see why Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is hoovering up awards acclaim left, right, and centre. A powerful film. 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Tez

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: Golden Globes Winners

Last night, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) announced the winners of this year's Golden Globe Awards, for both television and film, in a ceremony hosted by Seth Meyers for the first time.

Here is the full list of film winners.

Best Motion Picture (Drama): Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): Lady Bird

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

Best Actor (Drama): Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

Best Actor (Comedy or Musical): James Franco (The Disaster Artist)

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

Best Actress (Comedy or Musical): Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird)

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

Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Best Screenplay: Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Original Score: Alexandre Desplat (The Shape Of Water)

Best Original Song: 'This Is Me' (The Greatest Showman)

Best Foreign Language Film: In The Fade

Best Animated Feature Film: Coco

Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award: Oprah Winfrey



Seth Meyers' opening monologue was witty, with a couple of potshots at Trump and addressing the multiple Hollywood sexual harrassment scandals with aplomb. In support of the Time's Up movement- to support victims of sexual assault and harrassment- many of the women, and several men, were dressed all in black or wore Time's Up pin badges. Several acceptance speeches highlighted the Time's Up and #MeToo movements whilst Oprah Winfrey (the first black woman to receive the Cecil B. DeMille award) gave an eloquent and passionate speech in which she said 'speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have'.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri took home the most awards, winning four, whilst The Shape Of Water and Lady Bird took two each. 

In the TV awards, star-studded miniseries Big Little Lies was the big winner, also with four awards, with Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgard and Laura Dern lauded for their performances.

Congratulations to all winners!

There's more awards season shenanigans tomorrow (9th January) with the BAFTA Film Awards nominations being announced. 

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.

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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.