National Society of Film Critics: Love for Spotlight, Carol, Creed....
Sunday, January 3, 2016 at 6:45PM The last important critics awards have been announced and in the week of Oscar nomination voting too. Though they went with many of the names that have previously mentioned at other stops, they made one particularly welcome new call in Michael B Jordan as Best Actor? But are Oscar voters still looking for suggestions? When you've got a field as potentially anemic as this year's Best Actor race where no one seems all that enthused about the very famous probabilities, dig a little deeper. It can only help! The NSFC, formed in 1966 and the third most important US critics group outside of NYFCC and LAFCA (yes some members overlap since "National" includes multiple cities) spread the wealth. Only Spotlight and Carol took more than one prize.
The winners and runners up are after the jump...
PICTURE Spotlight
ru: Carol and Mad Max Fury Road
All three films are looking lockish for Best Picture nominations at this point. What a relief right since no matter what the rest of the field looks like there's three goodies at least.
DIRECTOR Todd Haynes, Carol
ru: McCarthy (Spotlight) & Miller (Mad Max)
Saying prayers daily that Haynes isn't mysteriously shut out by DGA (quite possible) and Oscar (hopefully not) but God isn't an Oscar buff so... Hey, what, if he were *MY* favorites wouldn't lose so often ;)
ACTRESS Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
ru: Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn) and Nina Hoss (Phoenix)
The real question is can Rampling win the Oscar if she's nominated? The media has been convinced it's going to be Brie Larson for months. I've long disagreed thinking it'll be Saoirse...
ACTOR Michael B Jordan, Creed
ru: Geza Rohrig (Son of Saul), and Tom Courtenay (45 Years)
First year since 1988 that New York, Los Angeles, National Society, Boston Society, and National Board all picked different Best Actor wins.
— Nick Davis (@NicksFlickPicks) January 3, 2016
To recap Best Actor has gone like so: New York (Keaton); Los Angeles (Fassbender); Boston (a tie between Dano & DiCaprio); NBR: (Damon)
The NSFC went "pfffft" at every other groups prizes and/or Oscar predictions going with three men who have curiously not been in the conversation despite starring in well liked films and doing strong work at that.
"Another prize???" - KStew who was probably hoping she had a red carpet break this year
SUPPORTING ACTRESS Kristen Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria
ru: Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina) & Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)
Can Kristen Stewart make it to Oscar? Seems too good to be true with so much fluff by way of lead roles and mediocre performances clouding that category
SUPPORTING ACTOR Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
ru: Michael Shannon (99 Homes) & Sylvester Stallone (Creed)
Supporting Actor is "The Category Most Likely To Surprise" on Nomination morning since it's the one category where anything like consensus has been hard to come by. Outside of theatrical icon Mark Rylance of course.
Timbuktu still collecting fans a year after its Oscar nomination
SCREENPLAY Spotlight
CINEMATOGRAPHY Carol
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Timbuktu, Mauritania (last year's Oscar nominated holdover)
NON FICTION FILM Amy
No runner up info was handy on these last categories. I continue to be flabbergasted that Amy has swept up nearly all the doc prizes. Usually documentary races feel more competitive.
Reader Comments (40)
I'm thrilled for Jordan -- my Florida Film Critics Circle vote -- and glad another group at least noticed Tom Courtenay in 45 YEARS (and Rampling is looking like she's got the nomination).
Carol vs. Spotlight vs. Mad Max is really just lovely.
I'm still holding out hope for Charlize Theron and Michael Keaton in lead.
I love that they gave Charlotte Rampling best actress, and Mark Rylance will be picking up an Oscar to go with his Tony awards next month.
How great it would be if after ignoring her for all these years Charlotte Rampling not received a nomination but a win. I'm not convinced that will happen but it looks pretty solid that she'll at least receive her long overdue first nod.
I dont understand the Supporting choice for Shannon...he's so clearly a co-lead to me in 99 homes am I crazy or?
Yeah four slots of best actress look cosy for Ronan (who I suspect, like you, could be the eventual winner even if Brooklyn doesn't do as well as we originally suspected), Larson, Blanchett and Rampling with the last spot up for grabs between Jennifer Lawrence, Lily Tomlin or maybe one of the "supporting" leads, Mara or Vikander.
Agreed on best actor. What a flop of a category this year. womp womp.
Go Kristen Stewart, go! I kinda hope any Academy acting members who have suffered their own career abuse will nominate her. Or, if the rumours are true and members just get their personal assistants to do the nominating, then she's gotta be in! :)
Kinda thinking CAROL will win cinematography over Lubezki's REVENANT. Sometimes they really do just go for the most old fashioned beautiful film.
Oof. Can't recall a year where the acting awards were more lackluster. I was fond of about half of these performances and the ones I loved I wouldn't ordinarily deem Oscar-worthy.
Tom Courtenay should SO be a surprise nominee. And OMG Mara should SO win Best Actress.
I'm still surprised we haven't had a "Rachel Weisz in Deep Blue Sea" critics pick anywhere yet.
Usually by this stage there's at least a couple of runaway trains with unstoppable awards momentum. I'm kind of loving that almost no category is locked up.
Also I'm still rooting for a Mad Max Best Picture win. Is that crazy? It might be a move mad enough to perfectly accompany the film.
"Can Kristen Stewart make it to Oscar? Seems too good to be true with so much fluff by way of lead roles and mediocre performances clouding that category"
I don't know. I think Kristen Stewart is both co-lead and mediocre in the wildly overpraised 'Clouds of Sils Maria.'
Disappointed that 'Spotlight' won picture, but happy for Todd Haynes, Michael B. Jordan, and Charlotte Rampling. Love that Nina Hoss was in the running for Best Actress.
I'd settle for a Rampling nomination, myself. Some of the best screen acting I've seen all year.
BEST SCREENPLAY:
*1. Spotlight (Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy) 21
Anomalisa (Charlie Kaufman) 15
The Big Short (Charles Randolph and Adam McKay) 15
CINEMATOGRAPHY:
*1. Carol (Ed Lachman) 25
The Assassin (Mark Lee Ping-bin) 22
Mad Max: Fury Road (John Seale) 12
Oh, and foreign language runners-up were "Phoenix" (22) and "The Assassin" (16). Non-fiction runners-up were "In Jackson Heights" (18) and "Seymour: An Introduction" (15).
Link: http://nationalsocietyoffilmcritics.com
Just finished 45 Years, and while I still believe that Cate gave the best performance (her line reading of "I love you" deserves it alone), I'd LOVE Rampling to win it. She's just fantastic in it.
However, I feel a nomination will have to do.
Thrilled for Michael B. Jordan, but the Best Actor race is CROWDED. I just don't know. At this point he's not making the cut, but I would be happy.
I went 5/5 last year in Best Actress, correctly predicting Cotillard to bump Aniston. This year is trickier. Below are my acting predictions for the Oscars- as of January 3, 2016:
______________________________________
ACTOR
Steve Carell, The Big Short
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Helen Mirren, Trumbo
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
@ Jason Travis: In other words, you're saying that Michael Keaton will win Best Actor next year for playing the founder of McDonald's in a (Weinstein distributed) biopic...
@Paul: LOL What? I don't get it ..... What does Michael Keaton have to do with my predictions. Sorry maybe I missed something.
re: glenn "Or, if the rumours are true and members just get their personal assistants to do the nominating, then she's gotta be in!"
HA! :)
@John Travis: Both Alicia Vikander and Rooney Mara are campaigning for supporting, but people always bring up both of them together in the same conversation when they talk about category fraud, like they are some sort of cahoots. So if the voters decide that they don't buy in the supporting nonsense and decide to go against their campaigns won't they do it for both Vikander and Mara, and not putting them one in leading and one in supporting.
Oops terrible mistake, I meant @Jason Travis... sorry
@PJ:
My theory is
1) We haven't had two Lead Actress nominees from the same film since 1991 - when Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis made it in for Thelma & Louise. So Mara AND Blanchett getting in is going to be hard.
2) I felt Blanchett was a (tinier) bit bigger in terms of importance and character, as Mara's seems to fade into the background. There's no doubt they share an equal amount of screen time, but if voters are going to fraud someone- I see Mara getting it before Vikander.
3) Vikander was much more impressive to me in The Danish Girl then Mara in Carol. Her acting sizzled and I felt she radiated more life into her veins. She's also the only lead female role, where as Mara has to share it with Blanchett. Like August: Osage County, there was only room for one lone female in lead (Streep) while the other had to bow into supporting (Roberts).
I could be dead wrong. It's just my take for now. I think Vikander might cancel herself out entirely due to the whole messy business of Ex Machina. Mara is actually a bit safer. BUT- if Vikander gets nominated for the Supporting Actress Oscar for Danish Girl (like she is at SAG), I can see her winning in the category.
Vikander is competing against herself in supporting actress, so voters can most definitely go for the fraud if they like with Mara in a way they don't necessarily have to comply with for Vikander with two roles in the running than can go lead AND supporting.
@ Jason Travis: Michael Keaton has everything to do with your predictions, since you're saying he will slip through the cracks this year (neither Lead nor Supporting, although many consider him one of the MVPs of Spotlight). If this happens, he will be a default overdue candidate (in a Weinstein-distributed biopic) next year.
@Paul:
Michael Keaton isn't in my predictions because
a) He wasn't as impressive to me as Ruffalo
b) He might be mistaken for Lead/Supporting since his complicated critics win in Lead recently.
I'm not saying he won't be nominated. Ruffalo is shaky too. But I think the latter will sneak in before Keaton. His performance was more interesting to me.
Both Spotlight men are vulnerable- Supporting Actor is very tight. I still think there's a chance Tom Hardy could surprise for The Revenant- further validating that Leonardo DiCaprio's Oscar win will be inevitable this year (unless Cranston or Fassbender overtake him in the televised precursors). I have nothing against Keaton's acting, but he was a snoozefest in Spotlight. So was McAdams for that matter, but she (sigh) seems to be helped by the fact that she is the sole female in an all male ensemble, so she stands out more. I would love to see someone like Joan Allen or Vikander (Ex Machina), Stewart (Clouds) replace her.
The NSFC is my favorite critics' organization. Their choices are always eclectic, and contain fun surprises. Most importantly, their voting process is transparent. The dubious NYFCC have been keeping their tabulation results secret the last few years--to the point that they even expelled a member for leaking the information. The NYFCC should realize that transparency in voting processes prevents corruption.
To me, the NSFC's winners and runners-up are a great alternative to the Oscars, with three nomination slots available in each category, and one vibrant winner. If you sift through their history, they always have some jaw-dropping runners-up that haven't been considered potential Oscar nominees at all.
@ Jason: I'm not arguing with your prediction at all. I'm only noting what it means for next year...
I'm glad The Assassin at least kept it close in cinematography. Those visuals were some of the best I'd EVER seen, and I don't understand why it's not winning cinematography awards. I'd vote for that to win over Carol and Mad Max (though those are 100% deserving nominees).
Such a dumb move from Weinstein to push Rooney Mara in supporting. Not only is category fraud inexcusable, she'd be the frontrunner to take that damn Oscar in February. Young, beautiful actress in her biggest role so far, with unanimous raves for that performance including a win at Cannes and no competition from her co-lead Blanchett who won just 2 years ago.
They'll unfortunately go for either one the much lesser performances from Saoirse Ronan and Brie Larson.
Charlotte Rampling gave the performance of the year (probably from the decade so far?) and would be my pick hands down. Pretty sure she'll get nominated which is something I guess.
God helps those who help themselves. The sins you constantly perpetrate with the BFCA earn you bad karma and zero sympathy.
Was it me or did Ruffalo overplay his part,I know he was a different kind of reporter but talk abou caricature,my predictions
ACTOR
CRANSTON
DICAPRIO
DAMON
CARRELL
REDMAYNE
ACTRESS
RONAN
RAMPLING
BLANCHETT
LARSON
VIKANDER
S/ACTOR
RYLANCE
STALLONE
BALE
SHANNON
HARDY
S/ACTRESS
FONDA
WINSLET
MIRREN
MCADAMS
MARA
1. Charlotte Rampling will win, I've been convinced for weeks now. But then again, I was convinced that Ian McKellen was going to go all the way, too, and now it looks like his chances are virtually nil. It now seems more likely that Tom Courtenay will get an "old living legend" slot on Charlotte Rampling's coattails. And that won't be a bad thing. In fact, I'm totally hoping for it.
2. I think Rooney Mara will be left in Supporting but Alicia Vikander for The Danish Girl will be bumped up to Leading (the similarities between her and Felicity Jones in Theory of Everything are undeniable) plus she'll be nominated in Supporting for Ex Machina
3. I just saw Creed and was really impressed by Michael B Jordan. It reminded me how overrated I thought Fruitvale Station was except for Jordan. He may not be in my final Top 5 but he's in the pool of those who are deserving.
I wasn't as crazy about Mara in Carol as others are.
That's a refreshing Best Actor category. I'd be happy if those three were in the Oscar nominees, plus Paul Dano. And one other who actually gave a good performance, not just shoved in by campaigning, and publicity machine and fan base. That's what makes a category dull.
Mara left me a bit cold,sometimes she was too internalized but had some gr8 scenes but much prefered Blanchett and you need to up your game if she's in a film with you playing Carol.
HOLT -- so now their idiocy is my fault? ;) thanks.
Don't be too surprised to see Harrison Ford make it for Best Supporting Actor for Star Wars
Looking on the NSFC's website, I see that Frederick Wiseman has been the runner-up in the Non-Fiction Film category for the past three years in a row!
I'm really pleased for Michael B. Jordan, and very much looking forward to seeing Creed, which opens here in the UK on Friday.
And surely Rampling has moved a step closer to her first Oscar nomination?
I'm absolutely delighted that this year there are no outright favourites in ANY of the categories.
Unlike last year where the Best Actress and supporting Oscars were going to offer no surprises whatsoever ie. Moore, Simmons and Arquette winning almost EVERY precursor award.
This year I think Spotlight will win Best Picture but I am only 50% confident at this stage. As for the other awards - who knows?
And that is the way I love it.
Bette --i 'm delighted by that too. BUT i worry that we often say this before the SAG/GLOBE/BFCA/OSCAR month o' weekends and then the same people win everything... so we'll see.
imagine a year when every acting prize is up in the air as if every year were 2007 in supporting actress. the surprise of Oscar night would be unreal.