Awards Update: "Mad Max" for OFCS / "Youth" for EFA
Monday, December 14, 2015 at 2:30PM 
Michael Caine finally takes a prize for YOUTH. But is it too little too late for Oscar to notice?ICYMI in Awardage
"Previously on The Precursors..." Gotham, Spirit, OFCS, NBR, NYFCC, LAFCA, BSFC, SAG Noms, SAG Ensemble, Golden Globes, Nominee Reactions, BFCA Noms
The Online Film Critics Society jumped on Furiousa's rig to go on George Miller's wild apocalyptic ride. Mad Max Fury Road took 4 prizes, the clear winner of their annual honors. Carol won both acting awards for women because that's the world we live in... I could see this happening at Oscar too if they also embrace Rooney Mara's fraudulent "supporting" campaign (sigh). I love both of those performances so I want to be happy about it but... you know... it ain't right. Unless they actually tie for Best Actress. But that's only happened once, so...
Kudos to OFCS for breaking the critical sweep for Amy in documentary -- it seemed strange given the hundreds of documentaries released each year that only one film would win things. They went with The Look of Silence.
More on online critics and the European Film winners after the jump...
Best Picture: Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Director: George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Best Actor: Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett (Carol)
Best Supporting Actor: Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina)
Best Supporting Actress: Rooney Mara (Carol)
Best Original Screenplay: Spotlight (Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Carol (Phyllis Nagy)
Best Editing: Mad Max: Fury Road (Margaret Sixel)
Best Cinematography: Mad Max: Fury Road (John Seale)
Best Animated Feature: Inside Out
Best Documentary: The Look of Silence
Best Film Not in the English Language: The Assassin (Taiwan)
They also do a top ten foreign films (not necessarily in a foreign language) that does not include the foreign language film winner. In alpha order those are...
Aferim!, Cemetery of Splendor, The Club, Dheepan, The Lobster, Mountains May Depart, Mia Madre, Rams, Right Now Wrong Then and The Sunset Song
EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS
Meanwhile over at the 28th annual European Film Awards, held in Berlin this year -- it moves each year -- Paolo Sorrentino's Youth was the big winner, taking home 3 awards. They also oddly decided this was the year to honor Michael Caine and Charlotte Rampling with non competitive prizes even though they were also winning the lead acting awards, so they each were honored twice.
Denis Gamze Ergüven -- "Discovery" Award for her excellent Oscar submission MUSTANGTheir winners went like so...
Film Youth (Italy)
Director Paolo Sorrentino, Youth (Italy)
Actor Michael Caine, Youth (Italy)
Actress Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years (UK)
Comedy Film A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence (Sweden)
People's Choice Marshland (Spain)
Documentary: Amy
Discovery - Prix Fipresci Mustang (France/Turkey)
Animated Feature Song Of The Sea (Ireland)
Short Film Picnic (Croatia)
Screenwriter Yorgos Lanthimos & Efthimis Filippou for The Lobster
Sound Vasco Pimentel & Miguel Martins for Arabian Nights – Vol I-III (Portugal)
Composer Cat’s Eyes for The Duke Of Burgundy (UK/Hungary)
Costume Designer Sarah Blenkinsop for The Lobster
Production Designer Sylvie Olivé for The Brand New Testament (Belgium)
Editor Jacek Drosio for Body (Poland)
Cinematography Martin Gschlacht for Goodnight Mommy (Austria)
"You are the most important actress in my life."
-François Ozon to Charlotte receiving her Lifetime Achievement Prize
Achievement in World Cinema (Honorary) Christoph Waltz
Honorary Award Michael Caine
Lifetime Achievement Awards Charlotte Rampling
Co-Production Award Andrea Occhipinti
Other Recent Award Wins...
Washington DC Film Critics Association (Spotlight), San Francisco Film Critics Circle (Spotlight), African American Film Critics Association (Straight Outta Compton) Southeastern Film Critics (Spotlight), Detroit Film Critics (Spotlight)
ICYMI in Awardage
"Previously on The Precursors..." Gotham, Spirit, OFCS, NBR, NYFCC, LAFCA, BSFC, SAG Nominations, SAG Ensemble, Golden Globes, Nominee Reactions, BFCA Nominations
Reader Comments (14)
Considering which organization gave it? Yeah, this is far too little, far too late for Michael Caine.
It's going to be a really long season if every post about awards is going to be about category fraud. Yes it's no ideal but there must be something else to talk about.
summer -- i hear you. i'm bored of it myself. i'll try to ignore for sanity.
YESSSSSS! finally a win for Cate!
Category fraud, schmategory schfraud. Nothing you can do. MOVE ON.
Personally, I'd like to hear more about the homophobic aspect of category fraud. Bottoms always gotta be supporting smh
Sukie: The more people fight for it, the less it will happen. There is no moving on until it's abolished.
Rahul, Rahul...
Nat on behalf of all day players / little known actors everywhere I applaud your fight against category fraud !
Am I alone in thinking Amy was distasteful in its conception and execution?
It's one thing to make a doc about a tragic superstar (see the Nina Simone doc). It becomes a different thing when you package it as a love letter from her "friends" and enablers. From the cutesy diary fonts to the sentimental coulda-woulda-shoulda. The way the editors morbidly luxuriated in her most private, hideous moments was shocking and unseemly. You show them but you don't *linger* on them like they're special effects.
It's a gnarly curiosity and a sincere tribute, but it barely qualifies as a "documentary" to me. It seemed to try to speak FOR Amy and about her at the same time. I was entertained but I felt guilty afterwards.
I agree that a unique angle on category fraud would be to discuss how it is more prevalent when the characters are gay couples. And it does seem like the more young/effeminate/bottom/passive/whatever character is the one that gets demoted.
Nowadays the internet is awash with discussion of category fraud. But this blog might be uniquely positioned to contextualize why it's not only bad for true supporting players, but also because it makes a subliminal assumption about the nature of gay relationships.
How's that for a pitch!
It's quite interesting what Bryan's saying. Aside from the laziness of the actual category fraud, it surely shows misconceptions and prejudice about sexuality.
I think it's important to highlight what's unfair about it (doesn't it diminish the value of the category, for example), while not forgetting what else is worthy about each award and whatnot.
Hayden, I wrote about that recently, actually, especially in regards to AMY
Now, there are some critics awards that are nominating both Blanchett and Mara in lead, like Austin. So, there's hope.