Critics Choice Nominations: "Fury Road" Leads and Category Fraud Refuses to Die.

Furiosa is coming to devour your Critics Choice AwardsThough I am a member of the BFCA, the organization behind the Critics Choice Awards, I can't say I'm often too pleased with their choices. Their penchant for attempting to predict the Oscars rather than voting based on earlier reviews continues to be the source of endless frustration. For example: everyone thought the SAG nominations were insane when they were announced but just a week later, the BFCA is repeating them despite lukewarm reviews (at best) for films like Trumbo. And though the reviews for Joy have been anything but great they gave it two major nominations, surely based on a year of Oscar expectations for it. Their difficulty in looking past mainstream pictures even in categories ripe for invasion from indies is also truly unfortunate (Tangerine and What We Do in the Shadows for example have 96% and 97% approval ratings from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and NONE of the BFCA's nominees for Best Comedy come anywhere close to those scores. Hell, Joy is currently at only 56% which is not good. And BFCA members are part of the Tomatometer so what does that tell you?

Unfortunately the members also embraced all the Category Fraud contenders in their studio preferred categories despite the BFCA endorsing a lead vote for Rooney Mara before voting began and somewhat suggesting that maybe Alicia Vikander didn't belong in supporting either. I understand from voting members of the OFCS that this exact situation preceded their vote. It's tough to root out Category Fraud when people have been so conditioned by the studios to believe that anything goes.

The complete list of nominees for film and television (with commentary is after the jump)

FILM AWARDS

BEST PICTURE

• The Big Short
• Bridge of Spies
• Brooklyn
• Carol
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Martian
• The Revenant
• Room
• Sicario
• Spotlight

The top tier Oscar contenders surfaced but this can't be good news for The Hateful Eight (BFCA having a very short memory and having recently seen it) and it's definitely not good news for Inside Out which will probably have to make do with its own ghetto category at Oscar. Congrats to Bridge of Spies and Sicario which both needed the attention.

BEST ACTOR

• Bryan Cranston – Trumbo
• Matt Damon – The Martian
• Johnny Depp – Black Mass
• Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
• Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
• Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl

Zzzzz This seems to be the big six - with one of them booted for Oscar? A rough outcome for Sir Ian McKellen (Mr Holmes) who seemed like a true dark horse a week ago. It's also so strange that groups haven't embraced Michael B Jordan (Creed) despite him being a rising mainstream star everyone seems to like and that he's carrying a pretty terrific crowdpleaser. Did Damon suck up all the "populist" action traction this year?

BEST ACTRESS

• Cate Blanchett – Carol
• Brie Larson – Room
• Jennifer Lawrence – Joy
• Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years
• Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn
• Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road

So basically Oscar predictions + Fury Road fanaticism

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Paul Dano – Love & Mercy
• Tom Hardy – The Revenant
• Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight
• Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies
• Michael Shannon – 99 Homes
• Sylvester Stallone – Creed

Their one bid at originality here is to shove Tom Hardy into the mix as he missed both Globe & SAG. The minor variations in this category from SAG to GLOBE to BFCA probably mean that Rylance, Shannon, are Stallone are locked in for Oscar but the fourth and fifth spots will be a pretty tight battle between Idris Elba, Jacob Tremblay (both SAG nominated) and Ruffalo and Keaton from Spotlight. 

Truly bizarre though that Benicio del Toro has not shown up for Sicario. Even for groups like Critics Choice that put the film in Best Picture lineup.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight
• Rooney Mara – Carol
• Rachel McAdams – Spotlight
• Helen Mirren – Trumbo
• Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
• Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs

No new names here and both Category Fraud women are included. Disappointing. Especially since there were terrific options that critics genuinely loved this year like Kristen Stewart in Clouds of Sils Maria, Cynthia Nixon in James White, Elizabeth Banks in Love & Mercy, etcetera

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS

• Abraham Attah – Beasts of No Nation
• RJ Cyler – Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
• Shameik Moore – Dope
• Milo Parker – Mr. Holmes
• Jacob Tremblay – Room

It's an all male lineup this year. Despite our pulling for Raffey Cassidy from Tomorrowland it didn't happen. Really happy to see Shameik Moore in here.

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE

• The Big Short
• The Hateful Eight
• Spotlight
• Straight Outta Compton
• Trumbo

Just embarrassing to quote SAG directly don't you think. Where is Sicario? or Brooklyn? or Carol? or any number of films with more consistent acting across the board than Trumbo or The Big Short.

BEST DIRECTOR

• Todd Haynes – Carol
• Alejandro González Iñárritu – The Revenant
• Tom McCarthy – Spotlight
• George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road
• Ridley Scott – The Martian
• Steven Spielberg – Bridge of Spies

The Globe lineup plus Steven Spielberg.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen – Bridge of Spies
• Alex Garland – Ex Machina
• Quentin Tarantino – The Hateful Eight
• Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley – Inside Out
• Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy – Spotlight

Ex Machina has been performing well in precursors but can it really strike with Oscar? It seems so off-Oscar! I suspect Son of Saul, Sicario, or Youth could wrestle the nomination away from it.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• Charles Randolph and Adam McKay – The Big Short
• Nick Hornby – Brooklyn
• Drew Goddard – The Martian
• Emma Donoghue – Room
• Aaron Sorkin – Steve Jobs

WHERE IS CAROL???? That is all.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Carol – Ed Lachman
• The Hateful Eight – Robert Richardson
• Mad Max: Fury Road – John Seale
• The Martian – Dariusz Wolski
• The Revenant – Emmanuel Lubezki
• Sicario – Roger Deakins

Another probably accurate Oscar prediction but who falls out? I hope it's Richardson. He's been awarded plenty by Oscar and these other men are (mostly) still waiting for a statue.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• Bridge of Spies – Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo
• Brooklyn – François Séguin, Jennifer Oman and Louise Tremblay
• Carol – Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler
• The Danish Girl – Eve Stewart, Michael Standish
• Mad Max: Fury Road – Colin Gibson
• The Martian – Arthur Max, Celia Bobak

Pretty solid nominations here though it's always frustrating when well designed contemporary films can't fight their way into these categories. Was pulling for Room here.

BEST EDITING

• The Big Short – Hank Corwin
• Mad Max: Fury Road – Margaret Sixel
• The Martian – Pietro Scalia
• The Revenant – Stephen Mirrione
• Spotlight – Tom McArdle

Where is Creed?

Cinderella's evil stepmother is not happy to fight her doppelganger Carol Aird for Best Costumes

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Brooklyn – Odile Dicks-Mireaux
• Carol – Sandy Powell
• Cinderella – Sandy Powell
• The Danish Girl – Paco Delgado
• Mad Max: Fury Road – Jenny Beavan

It would be so tremendously fun to see Mad Max Fury Road Oscar nominated in this category but it seems too crazy to hope for.

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP

• Black Mass
• Carol
• The Danish Girl
• The Hateful Eight
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Revenant

Hmmm. Pretty solid though I'm not sure I understand the Black Mass attention. Was Depp supposed to look inhuman?

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• Ex Machina
• Jurassic World
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Martian
• The Revenant
• The Walk

Ex Machina YAAASSS. A rough morning for superheroes though with Age of Ultron and Ant-Man shut out. Let us not speak of Jurassic World

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• Anomalisa
• The Good Dinosaur
• Inside Out
• The Peanuts Movie
• Shaun the Sheep Movie

An exact match of the Globe list. But neither of those awards bodies have shown much interest in foreign cartoons. Oscar likes them though so we doubt you'll see all of them repeating for Oscar.

BEST ACTION MOVIE

• Furious 7
• Jurassic World
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
• Sicario

I know it's popular to hate on Avengers Age of Ultron but let's face facts. It's a better movie, even with its big flaws, than Jurassic World.

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE

• Daniel Craig – Spectre
• Tom Cruise – Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
• Tom Hardy – Mad Max: Fury Road
• Chris Pratt – Jurassic World
• Paul Rudd – Ant-Man

A nomination Jurassic World actually deserves!

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE

• Emily Blunt – Sicario
• Rebecca Ferguson – Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
• Bryce Dallas Howard – Jurassic World
• Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
• Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road

Bryce Dallas Howard when you could've had Shu Qi from The Assassin or Melissa McCarthy from Spy or Scarlett Johansson for Age of Ultron or Lea Seydoux from Spectre or anyone really is my point

BEST COMEDY

• The Big Short
• Inside Out
• Joy
• Sisters
• Spy
• Trainwreck

With the exception of Inside Out, none of these films have the rave reviews of Tangerine. Truly disappointed -- no actually full on angry that it was snubbed. There's no excuse. Joy is at 56% at Rotten Tomatoes. Critics don't like it and to include it rather than a comedy that's making top ten lists? Stupid.

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY

• Christian Bale – The Big Short
• Steve Carell – The Big Short
• Robert De Niro – The Intern
• Bill Hader – Trainwreck
• Jason Statham – Spy

Only the Big Short guys repeating from the Globes. Interesting.

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

• Tina Fey – Sisters
• Jennifer Lawrence – Joy
• Melissa McCarthy – Spy
• Amy Schumer – Trainwreck
• Lily Tomlin – Grandma

Go Lily Tomlin. Get it. (Though obviously Amy Schumer is winning all these prizes from now through January)

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE

• Ex Machina
• It Follows
• Jurassic World
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Martian

What do you think is missing? Or was it a weak year for horror /sci-fi?

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

• The Assassin
• Goodnight Mommy
• Mustang
• The Second Mother
• Son of Saul

Hmmm.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• Amy
• Cartel Land
• Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
• He Named Me Malala
• The Look of Silence
• Where to Invade Next

BEST SONG

• Fifty Shades of Grey – Love Me Like You Do
• Furious 7 – See You Again
• The Hunting Ground – Til It Happens To You
• Love & Mercy – One Kind of Love
• Spectre – Writing’s on the Wall
• Youth – Simple Song #3

All but the Love & Mercy song are on Oscar's 74 wide eligibility list.

BEST SCORE

• Carol – Carter Burwell
• The Hateful Eight – Ennio Morricone
• The Revenant – Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto
• Sicario – Johann Johannsson
• Spotlight – Howard Shore

This would be a mighty solid Oscar list... but there are so many possibilities

TELEVISION CATEGORIES

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

• Anthony Anderson – Black-ish – ABC
• Aziz Ansari – Master of None – Netflix
• Will Forte – The Last Man on Earth – Fox
• Randall Park – Fresh Off the Boat – ABC
• Fred Savage – The Grinder – Fox
• Jeffrey Tambor - Transparent - Amazon

These seem like great choices... mostly because Jim Parsons isn't here!

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

• Hugh Dancy – Hannibal – NBC
• Rami Malek – Mr. Robot – USA
• Clive Owen – The Knick – Cinemax
• Liev Schreiber – Ray Donovan – Showtime
• Justin Theroux – The Leftovers – HBO
• Aden Young – Rectify – Sundance

Truly pleased that Justin Theroux and Rami Malek are accounted for

BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES

• Wes Bentley – American Horror Story: Hotel – FX
• Martin Clunes – Arthur & George – PBS
• Idris Elba – Luther – BBC America
• Oscar Isaac – Show Me a Hero – HBO
• Vincent Kartheiser – Saints & Strangers – National Geographic Channel
• Patrick Wilson – Fargo – FX

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

• Rachel Bloom – Crazy Ex-Girlfriend – The CW
• Aya Cash – You’re the Worst – FXX
• Wendi McLendon-Covey – The Goldbergs – ABC
• Gina Rodriguez – Jane the Virgin – The CW
• Tracee Ellis Ross – Black-ish – ABC
• Constance Wu – Fresh Off the Boat – ABC

Awesome list, don't you think? Rachel Bloom is having a great week for a struggling show.

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

• Shiri Appleby – UnREAL – Lifetime
• Carrie Coon – The Leftovers – HBO
• Viola Davis – How to Get Away With Murder – ABC
• Eva Green – Penny Dreadful – Showtime
• Taraji P. Henson – Empire – Fox
• Krysten Ritter – Jessica Jones – Netflix

Between the Globe nods and these, Emmy voters are getting a lot of great advice which they will totally ignore next summer and vote for the same ol same ol (it's pronounced "Julianna Marguiles and Claire Danes")

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES

• Kathy Bates – American Horror Story: Hotel – FX
• Kirsten Dunst – Fargo – FX
• Sarah Hay – Flesh and Bone – Starz
• Alyvia Alyn Lind – Dolly Parton‘s Coat of Many Colors – NBC
• Rachel McAdams – True Detective – HBO
• Shanice Williams – The Wiz Live! – NBC

BEST COMEDY SERIES

• Black-ish – ABC
• Catastrophe – Amazon
• Jane the Virgin – The CW
• Master of None – Netflix
• The Last Man on Earth – Fox
• Transparent – Amazon
• You’re the Worst – FXX

BEST DRAMA SERIES

• Empire – Fox
• Mr. Robot – USA
• Penny Dreadful – Showtime
• Rectify – Sundance
• The Knick – Cinemax
• The Leftovers – HBO
• UnREAL – Lifetime

So much better than Emmy will do next summer.

BEST GUEST ACTOR/ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

• Ellen Burstyn – Mom – CBS
A
• Anjelica Huston – Transparent – Amazon
• Cherry Jones – Transparent – Amazon
• Jenifer Lewis – Black-ish – ABC
• Timothy Olyphant – The Grinder – Fox
• John Slattery – Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp – Netflix

BEST GUEST ACTOR/ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

• Richard Armitage – Hannibal – NBC
• Justin Kirk – Manhattan – WGN America
• Patti LuPone – Penny Dreadful – Showtime
• Margo Martindale – The Good Wife – CBS
• Marisa Tomei – Empire – Fox
• B.D. Wong – Mr. Robot – USA

Painful truth: I don't think Marisa Tomei is very good on Empire though I am normally a big Tomei supporter. But loving loving loving the BD Wong and Patti Lupone nominations.

BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES

• Childhood’s End – Syfy
• Fargo – FX
Luther – BBC America
• Saints & Strangers – National Geographic Channel
• Show Me a Hero – HBO
• The Wiz Live! – NBC

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

• Andre Braugher – Brooklyn Nine-Nine – Fox
• Jaime Camil – Jane the Virgin – The CW
• Jay Duplass – Transparent – Amazon
• Neil Flynn – The Middle – ABC
• Keegan-Michael Key – Playing House – USA
• Mel Rodriguez – Getting On – HBO

Yay Jaime Camil & Mel Rodriguez

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

• Clayne Crawford – Rectify – Sundance
• Christopher Eccleston – The Leftovers – HBO
• Andre Holland – The Knick – Cinemax
• Jonathan Jackson – Nashville – ABC
• Rufus Sewell – The Man in the High Castle – Amazon
• Christian Slater – Mr. Robot – USA

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES

• David Alan Grier – The Wiz Live! – NBC
• Ne-Yo – The Wiz Live! – NBC
• Nick Offerman – Fargo – FX
• Jesse Plemons – Fargo – FX
• Raoul Trujillo – Saints & Strangers – National Geographic Channel
• Bokeem Woodbine – Fargo – FX

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

• Mayim Bialik – The Big Bang Theory – CBS
• Kether Donohue – You’re the Worst – FXX
• Allison Janney – Mom – CBS
• Judith Light – Transparent – Amazon
• Niecy Nash – Getting On – HBO
• Eden Sher – The Middle – ABC

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

• Ann Dowd – The Leftovers – HBO
• Regina King – The Leftovers – HBO
• Helen McCrory – Penny Dreadful – Showtime
• Hayden Panettiere – Nashville – ABC
• Maura Tierney – The Affair – Showtime
• Constance Zimmer – UnREAL – Lifetime

Finally some love for the great Ann Dowd for her indelible work on The Leftovers.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES

• Mary J. Blige – The Wiz Live! – NBC
• Laura Haddock – Luther – BBC America
• Cristin Milioti – Fargo – FX
• Sarah Paulson – American Horror Story: Hotel – FX
• Winona Ryder – Show Me a Hero – HBO
• Jean Smart – Fargo – FX

Mary J Blige was so great as Evilene wasn't she?

BEST ANIMATION SERIES

• Bob’s Burgers – Fox
• BoJack Horseman – Netflix
• South Park – Comedy Central
• Star Wars Rebels – Disney XD
• The Simpsons – Fox

BEST REALITY SHOW – COMPETITION

• Chopped – Food Network
• Face Off – Syfy
• MasterChef Junior – Fox
• Survivor – CBS
• The Amazing Race – CBS
• The Voice – NBC

Any reality show competition that doesn't include RuPauls' Drag Race is impossible to take seriously.

BEST REALITY SHOW HOST

• Ted Allen – Chopped – Food Network
• Phil Keoghan – The Amazing Race – CBS
• James Lipton – Inside the Actors Studio – Bravo
• Jane Lynch – Hollywood Game Night – NBC
• Jeff Probst – Survivor – CBS
• Gordon Ramsay – Hell’s Kitchen – Fox

Any reality show competition that doesn't include RuPaul is impossible to take seriously.

BEST STRUCTURED REALITY SHOW

• Antiques Roadshow – PBS
• Inside The Actors Studio – Bravo
• MythBusters – Discovery
• Project Greenlight – HBO
• Shark Tank – ABC
• Undercover Boss – CBS

BEST TALK SHOW

• Jimmy Kimmel Live! – ABC
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – HBO
• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – Comedy Central
• The Graham Norton Show – BBC America
• The Late Late Show with James Corden – CBS
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – NBC

Hooray for the male species.

BEST UNSTRUCTURED REALITY SHOW

• Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown – CNN
• Cops – Spike
• Deadliest Catch – Discovery
• Intervention – A&E
• Naked and Afraid – Discovery
• Pawn Stars – History

 WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE NOMINATIONS THIS YEAR? Seems they did better with TV than film, eh?

Comments

[Philip H.]

Hot mess.

[George P]

Love the TV noms for "Fresh Off the Boat" "Crazy Ex Girlfriend," Hugh Dancy (in the hottest lineup category)...and Mary J. Blige?!

I don't get why there isn't a Best Actor/Actress in a SciFi/Horror Film. I get separate categories for Comedy but also Action? Then again, I believe Emily Blunt rightly won last year in that one for "Edge of Tomorrow"!

[/3rtful]

I knew Anjelica Huston doing Transparent would led to an awards resurgence for her. Leading to collecting her elusive Primetime Emmy for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. And since the Emmys is all about the popular vote and she has never won one and is a veteran in her 60's she ripe to reap the prize.

[SoSue]

Yikes, how many categories are there? Are they doing TV and movies in one night like the GGs? I think they're gonna have to rent out a stadium with the amount of people who are nominated (and book 6 hours of airtime).

[Yavor]

boring

[Tom M]

Once again, everyone forgets how much they love "The Americans"!

[Suzanne]

Nat - Inside Out is (one of?) the most critically acclaimed wide release movie of the year. Though that begs the question, why isn't it nominated in the general category?

I love Winslet, but besides her, the Supporting Actress category is really depressing.

Glad to see Rectify nominated, but it's sad that no one in this group watches The Americans.

[BlueMoon02]

Regrettable about the Category Fraud and lack of love for Tangerine....

But a boost for Charlotte Rampling and to a lesser extent Charlize Theron. Wondering why Carey Mulligan isnt getting the love...

Wow Transparent just released a few days ago!!!!!

[JAKE D]

Hey, at least five of the six Best Comedies have female leads! That's something.

No Carol in screenplay is hilarious. Guess only one woman is allowed to write at a time.

Nice that there are three young black men in Best Young Actor/Actress, but no young women at all?? Yikes.

[BlueMoon02]

@/3rtful How was Anjelica Huston in Transparent?

@JAKE D YES, NAGY IS BRILLIANT

[Mary]

Theron seems to be coming on a bit stronger as eecember roles on,that 5th spot is anyones.

Blah supporting actress no Fonda.

[Rami]

Are the performances in Trumbo really that bad ? It seems that people are hating on that movie sight unseen, even if you don't like the film itself (fair enough), rewards for acting should reflect the merit of the performance, not the film that they are housed in, so even if the film itself has lukewarm reviews doesn't mean that the performances are lukewarm!

[LadyEdith]

Way too many categories, my god the list just goes on and on...

1) Why is Charlize Theron nominated in best drama actress & in best actress in Action film?
I love the performance but this double nom means that there is no nomination for Carey Mulligan.
(Just a reminder here that Mulligan was excellent in both "Far From the Madding Crowd" & "Suffragette" - but Vikander is getting so much more attention. New girls get the love ...?

2) "Brooklyn" didn't get a best ensemble nomination but "Trumbo" did ???
Clearly critics don't actually watch the films. That's the only explanation for that.
3) Sandy Powell competing against herself - for both "Cinderella" and "Carol"

[/3rtful]

Blue Moon: I haven't watched Season 2 yet to know.

[Rahul]

WITNESS!

Mad Max is like bringing the Oscars back to when Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jaws and ET and amazing populist cinema is nominated.

[Suzanne]

According to Mo Ryan on Twitter, The Americans wasn't eligible for these nominations, because the eligibility period started in June.

[BlueMoon02]

If the locks for Best Actress are Larson, Ronan and Blanchett, who should fill up the remaining 2?

Personally speaking I will say Rooney and Rampling if Academy deflects the fraud. If not Mulligan and Rampling.

[Nick T]

How on Earth is Wes Bently getting the love for Hotel as its literal worst main player with Denis O'Hare and Evan Peters just sitting right there? Ew. Maybe this'll really be Sarah Paulson's year at the Emmys I chant to myself again as I have for literal years now what the hell.

Congrats to Charlotte Rampling and Jennifer Jason Leigh, but it feels weird to me that Kristen Stewart couldn't even get in on the critics only award show. I know the point of the category fraud is to rack up nominations but Mara and Vikander have both gotten nominations in lead when they've been forced there so what the hell. Especially since Vikander's likely being denied a double nomination for Danish Girl and Ex Machina. Why are coordinators awful.

[Travis]

Makeup: "Pretty solid though Black Mass? yeesh, Depp didn't even look human."

Agreed a million times! ... so bad.

[AR]

So we have our core nine in Picture, right? Those ten BP nominees minus Bridge/Sicario and with Creed instead. Shame about Inside Out getting bumped.

[Watt Finnegan]

Once again, Jennifer Lawrence buys her way in.

[Charles O]

@BlueMoon02 Adding Mara and Rampling to those three locks would be a great outcome, of course. Though I'd be sad for Tomlin. But what about Lawrence? Do we think AMPAS will include her for Joy? People adore her. Personally I'm feeling the fatigue real bad so I'd like it if she sat this one out.

Also, love Meryl as I do, and even though I thought she was great in RATF, I'm glad she's not getting nominated. She needs a few years of great performances with no nominations to come back from the fatigue.

[Peggy Sue]

So, who are YOU going to vote for supporting actress?

[Yavor]

already bored of awards season

[/3rtful]

BAFTA and AMPAS are our only hope.

[NATHANIEL R]

Yavor - LOL

Peggy Sue -- from that list? I'm a Kate Winslet voter 100%. I think Mara is just great in CAROL but I can't in good conscience vote for a leading role to win a supporting category.

Nick T -- i never understand AHS's pull with awards shows. The show is highly uneven but always does super well but even so it seems like it rarely lines up to who is the MVP of a particular season.

[Matthew]

Don't you have to include Dano as on the bubble for Supporting Actor along with the four you cited?

[cal roth]

Del Toro keeps NOT happening. WHY???

[Mike]

Aren't critics supposed to be more discerning than the simpletons who vote for SAG and the Oscars? These film nominations are terrible.

Carey Mulligan should just put herself in supporting for 'Suffragette,' at this point. People will believe anything.

[Sonja]

Is Mad Max going strong at Oscars too? Would be great, but it sounds so Un-Oscary.... Will old white male really care?

[Andy]

I honestly wish this ceremony would stop being televised, mainly because I hate the way it influences the race. Take chances! It's like they voted based off of Nathaniel's most recent chart updates.

[Nick T]

Like how everyone forgot about Michael Chiklis last year and Sarah Paulson, Angela Bassett, Frances Conroy still don't have Emmys, right. Maybe they'll still nominate Jessica Lange this year.

[BlueMoon02]

@CharlesO Same sentiments for Lily Tomlin but Rampling has never gotten a nomination and this could be her only chance. If Rooney gets into Best Actress , I will definitely want her to win. She and Cate are magnificent, however Rooney is more naturalistic and Therese is the one I keep thinking about after the film ends.

@NATHANIEL R Ryan Murphy's shows is like the dysfunctional and unreliable boyfriend and keep cheating behind your back but you keep taking him back because he is so seductive charmingly addictive.

@Peggy Sue JJL

[Bia]

I love the TV awards, although I thought they announced closer to summer?

[Jonathan]

Any cinematography notice for "The Martian" is mystifying. Most of the film is a series of static one shots and bland medium close-ups. The stuff at NASA is televisual at best - completely and utterly banal in almost every way. Wolski is getting by on name recognition. Where is "The Assassin," the most ravishingly shot film of the year?

[Roark]

Ugh, I really need to just find a way to make peace with the apparent Spotlight freight train to come. Best editing? Best supporting actor for RUFFALO?! So embarrassing.

[John T]

Yikes-this is so "predict the Oscars" I'm surprised they didn't just vote John Williams for Star Wars even without seeing it...

[Santy C.]

Yay for Patti!

[Mr.Goodbar]

So, basically if you are a working actor or works in a movie or a show that had a lot or some visibility, you get to have you name on this endless list, regardless of quality or whatnot? Is this the Grammy version of these critic awards? Does anyone truly have any reaction whatsoever or even remember any of them in the next day of these "nominations" whether this or that person was nominated, whether you are a fan or not? Seems like a pointless exercise to me and an exemplary display of herd mentality.
But to each their own. I guess I understand the appeal, which is to have others agree with our opinions in order for us to feel validated or to play a guessing game, with different levels of seriousness to different people. I really made a case for myself years ago to not get so attached to awards or let them dictate what matters in my film viewing experience. So, basically, no matter how many mentions a given film or actress gets, if it is something I have no interest in, I will stay away from it and try not to forget to explore better, more intriguing movies from the past. This has actually been a very uninspiring year for original films, give or take stellar documentaries such as The Look of Silence and Stray Dogs, the fun in Mad Max and It Follows, the honesty of Brooklyn, Mustang and The Second Mother, the depth of Inside Out, the energy of Tangerine and Beasts of No Nation and inventiveness of A Pigeon sat....

[Anne Boils]

Currently, Joy is at 58% on Rotten Tomatoes. If Lawrence gets an Oscar nomination simply because she is Jennifer Lawrence, it means someone who gave a better performance in a better film gets pushed to the side because of her. I am really over her.

[Raul]

The only benefit of category fraud is that it raises the chances of Charlotte Rampling getting nominated, but having seen both "Carol" and "The Danish Girl," both Rooney Mara and Alicia Vikara are, without a doubt, lead actresses in the film. If anything, Mara is more of a lead than Blanchett as she undergoes a greater evolution in the film.

[Kaa]

SO happy for Shanice Williams, who I had the pleasure of going to college with. She's truly a humble and radiant talent whose joy is contagious. She definitely deserves this!

[NATHANIEL R]

Bia -- they've decided to fuse their two awards shows together even though technically it's two separate organizations (membership in one group doesn't automatically get you into the other). So because of that the eligibility window for TV prizes this year was super short. Basically the last half of the year only. so now they'll be on a calendar year eligibility from now forward.

[NATHANIEL R]

Jonathan -- i wouldn't say that's why Wolski is a "name" in that way in terms of getting nominated. He's actually never been Oscar nominated so this level of attention is entirely new for him. I would say it's because the film is so popular.

[svg]

The TV nominations are quite good! I suppose they don't suffer as much with precursor fatigue. I mean, you'd think Critics would remember that they'd given Trumbo bad reviews.

My top 5 fave nominations:
1. Winona Ryder (this is maybe my favourite performance of the year and I didn't even like Show Me a Hero that much)
2. Charlize Theron (I would love if she got an Oscar nom for this- is it impossible?)
3. Jason Statham (pity there's no Rose Byrne though)
4. Hugh Dancy (I'm still thinking about Hannibal)
5. Regina King (yay for all the Leftovers nods but she's my fave)

[BJT]

Chicago film critics are far more interesting (well worth a look):

http://www.chicagofilmcritics.org/

[Paul Outlaw]

"Was Depp supposed to look inhuman?"

[insert snarky remark about South Boston/white people here]

“There were people in South Boston who told me that [Bulger’s] eyes were so piercingly blue and crystalline that people would have a difficult time maintaining eye contact with him because they’d just peer through your soul.” (Scott Cooper)

[brookesboy]

Elizabeth Banks, Elizabeth Banks, ELIZABETH BANKS!!!! She should be winning these critics prizes and she's not even getting nommed!

I am loving the Sup Actress in a Comedy Series...Sher, Light and Nash are all brilliant.

[Joel V.]

@3rtful, Sadly BAFTA is becoming just as predictable and underwhelming. AMPAS may produce a surprise or two as of late. We'll see..

Would like to see some noms in the design categories for Crimson Peak; they practically made the movie.

[Paul Outlaw]

Chicago Critics not feeling the Carol screenplay either...