AACTA Awards Hail Mel Gibson, Tanna and... Gods of Egypt?
Thursday, October 27, 2016 at 10:00AM Mel Gibson certainly won’t object to waking up to 13 nominations from the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (the AACTA Awards) for his directorial comeback, Hacksaw Ridge. This canny bit of career rehabilitation for the former Oscar winner began, by association, with the revival of Mad Max. Even if Hacksaw Ridge doesn't ultimately pan out in terms of Oscar success, it should at least go some way to redeeming him in the eyes of many who have been turned off by his personal dramas and increasingly violent movies. I have not seen the film which leads today’s AACTA announcement, but a big-budget international co-production with a big name at its helm is catnip to this group --it’s not surprising to see it nominated in every category possible except one (Best Original Score).
The pleasure in these nominations is the swathe of nominations for much smaller, unique titles like the desert noir Goldstone, the quirky coming-of-age fantasy Girl Asleep, and Australia’s foreign language Oscar entry the Vanuatu-set romance Tanna that in any other year (er, one with bigger hits) would have likely been left with scraps. These four films are nominated alongside the all-star Ibsen adaptation The Daughter in the Best Film category. Alas, Gods of Egypt had to settle for technical nominations.
And, in case you’re wondering, Lion is not here because it doesn’t receive a local release (in its home country!) until next January. This time next year, folks.
The full list of nominations with commentary after the jump...
BEST FILM
- THE DAUGHTER | Jan Chapman, Nicole O’Donohue
- GIRL ASLEEP | Jo Dyer
- GOLDSTONE | Greer Simpkin, David Jowsey
- HACKSAW RIDGE | Bill Mechanic, David Permut, Paul Currie, Bruce Davey
- TANNA | Martin Butler ADG, Bentley Dean ADG, Carolyn Johnson
BEST DIRECTION
- GIRL ASLEEP | Rosemary Myers
- GOLDSTONE | Ivan Sen
- HACKSAW RIDGE | Mel Gibson
- TANNA | Bentley Dean ADG, Martin Butler ADG
This category is fascinating. Byond Gibson (who showed up at last year’s ceremony to coronate George Miller) we have a rising Indigenous auteur, a pair of documentarians turning their eye to foreign language mythology, and the female debut director behind a delightfully fantastical high school flick. That Simon Stone, who adapted his own stage adaptation of The Wild Duck with a big cast and found minor box office success, missed out is a surprise, but a welcome one when we get Sen, Myers and Dean/Butler.
BEST LEAD ACTOR
- John Brumpton as Les Underwood | PAWNO
- Andrew Garfield as Desmond Doss | HACKSAW RIDGE
- Damian Hill as Danny Williamson | PAWNO
- Ewen Leslie as Oliver | THE DAUGHTER
I’m sure Garfield is good, but MY GOD give this statue to Ewen Leslie. What fool would not?
BEST LEAD ACTRESS
- Maeve Dermody as Kate | PAWNO
- Maggie Naouri as Anu Singh | JOE CINQUE’S CONSOLATION
- Teresa Palmer as Dorothy Schutte | HACKSAW RIDGE
- Odessa Young as Hedvig | THE DAUGHTER
Naouri is an inspired selection from an otherwise overly fussy film adaptation of the famous Canberra murder Joe Cinque. Likewise Odessa Young (above) who had a breakout year with both The Daughter and Sue Brooks’ Looking for Grace and will no doubt be on some international "names to watch" list in no time.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Mark Coles Smith as Pauly | PAWNO
- Damon Herriman as Jason | DOWN UNDER
- Sam Neill as Walter | THE DAUGHTER
- Hugo Weaving as Tom Doss | HACKSAW RIDGE
I truly don’t remember enough about Pawno other than being underwhelmed so all of these acting nominations seem at once both puzzling and yet entirely obvious given the ensemble nature of the film set in and around a Footscray pawn store. Having said that, Mark Coles Smith was such a delight in last year’s Last Cab to Darwin so it would be sweet to see him clinch a statue from such big names as Neill (over Geoffrey Rush for the same film) and defending category champ Hugo Weaving (he won for The Dressmaker last year).
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Kerry Armstrong as Jennifer Montgomery | PAWNO
- Rachel Griffiths as Bertha Doss | HACKSAW RIDGE
- Miranda Otto as Charlotte | THE DAUGHTER
- Anna Torv as Anna | THE DAUGHTER
Okay, sure. But save a thought for Julia Blake (A Month of Sundays) and Kerry Fox (Downriver) who certainly had reason to expect a nomination here.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- DOWN UNDER | Abe Forsythe
- GOLDSTONE | Ivan Sen
- HACKSAW RIDGE | Andrew Knight, Robert Schenkkan
- PAWNO | Damian Hill
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- THE DAUGHTER | Simon Stone
- GIRL ASLEEP | Matthew Whittet
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- GIRL ASLEEP | Andrew Commis ACS
- HACKSAW RIDGE | Simon Duggan ACS
- SPEAR | Bonnie Elliott
- TANNA | Bentley Dean ADG
Tanna has some of the best cinematography of any film all year. You just don’t see many movies with passionate embraces set against a real volcanic eruption, you know? Great seeing Spear, starring the magnetic Hunter Page-Lochard, pop up here and a couple of others places, too. Stephen Page’s Aboriginal dance film was truly unlike anything I - or you, if you ever find it - have seen.
AACTA AWARD FOR BEST EDITING
- THE DAUGHTER | Veronika Jenet ASE
- GIRL ASLEEP | Karryn de Cinque
- GOLDSTONE | Ivan Sen
- HACKSAW RIDGE | John Gilbert
BEST SOUND
- THE DAUGHTER | Liam Egan ASSG, Nick Emond, Tony Murtagh ASSG, James Andrews, Yulia Akerholt ASSG, Robert Sullivan
- GODS OF EGYPT | Wayne Pashley ASSG, Peter Grace ASSG, Derryn Pasquill, Fabian Sanjurjo, Greg P. Fitzgerald, Peter Purcell ASSG
- HACKSAW RIDGE | Andrew Wright, Robert Mackenzie, Kevin O’Connell, Mario Vaccaro, Tara Webb, Peter Grace ASSG
- TANNA | Emma Bortignon, James Ashton, Martin Butler ADG
BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE
- BOYS IN THE TREES | Darrin Verhagen
- GODS OF EGYPT | Marco Beltrami
- TANNA | Antony Partos AGCS
- TEENAGE KICKS | David Barber
Every year there is one category that makes me go, “well, they were certainly paying attention to all the contenders there.” This wonderfully oddball assemblage of films is so unexpected that it’s really hard not to wish there were more like them at all award shows. I might be rooting for Darrin Verhagen given he is the only nominee from the special queer-ish fantasy Boys in the Trees from previous AACTA winner Nick Verso. His very excellent short, The Last Time I Saw Richard, can be seen on Vimeo.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
- THE DAUGHTER | Steven Jones-Evans APDG
- GIRL ASLEEP | Jonathon Oxlade
- GOLDSTONE | Matt Putland
- HACKSAW RIDGE | Barry Robison
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
- GIRL ASLEEP | Jonathon Oxlade
- GODS OF EGYPT | Liz Palmer
- HACKSAW RIDGE | Lizzy Gardiner
- SPEAR | Jennifer Irwin
The Oscar winning costume designer of Priscilla facing off against the Egyptian kitsch of Gods of Egypt, the Wes Anderson by way of 1970s Australian suburbia of Girl Asleep and the dusty blend of traditional and contemporary in Spear make this one fun category! Last year’s winner was The Dressmaker and I’m wondering whether it’s recent minor US arthouse success can help fund an Oscar campaign for its deliciously wonderful costumes. They nominated W.E. after all, which made five cents.
The Oscar winning costume designer of Priscilla facing off against the Egyptian kitsch of Gods of Egypt, the Wes Anderson by way of 1970s Australian suburbia of Girl Asleep and the dusty blend of traditional and contemporary in Spear make this one fun category! Last year’s winner was The Dressmaker and I’m wondering whether it’s recent minor US arthouse success can help fund an Oscar campaign for its deliciously wonderful costumes. They nominated W.E. after all, which made five cents.
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
- A PLACE TO CALL HOME | Wizzy Molineaux – Foxtel
- CLEVERMAN | Kath Brown, Simon Joseph, Troy Follington – ABC
- GODS OF EGYPT | Lesley Vanderwalt, Lara Jade Birch, Adam Johansen
- HACKSAW RIDGE | Shane Thomas, Larry Van Duynhoven
This newer category covers both film (Hacksaw Ridge and Gods of Egypt) and television (A Place to Call Home and Cleverman). It’s a bit odd, but these sort of national awards don’t have the financial resources of the Oscars or the BAFTAs and sometimes have to consolidate.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS OR ANIMATION
- GAME OF THRONES – SEPT WILDFIRE DESTRUCTION, Season 6, Episode 10 – The Winds of Winter | Joe Bauer, Steve Kullback, Sam Conway, Hubert Maston, Anthony Smith – Foxtel, Showcase
- GAME OF THRONES, Season 6, Episode 9 – Battle of the Bastards | Glenn Melenhorst, Ineke Majoor – Foxtel, Showcase
- GODS OF EGYPT | Andrew Hellen, James Whitlam, Julian Dimsey
- X-MEN: APOCALYPSE - QUICKSILVER EXTRACTION | John Dykstra, Matt Sloan, Blondel Aidoo, Cameron Waldbauer
They recently implemented a rule-change to this category that allows Australian visual effects houses to be nominated for international films and television. So the only locally-made film, Gods of Egypt with its space boats and elaborate Sphinx booby traps, is up against X-Men: Apocalypse and two episodes of Game of Thrones. X-Men: Days of Future Past won this three years ago for its identical Quicksilver scene – will history repeat itself or will the influence of HBO’s fantasy hit extend across oceans?
BEST FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY
- CHASING ASYLUM | Eva Orner
- IN THE SHADOW OF THE HILL | Dan Jackson
- REMEMBERING THE MAN | Nickolas Bird ADG, Eleanor Sharpe ADG
- SNOW MONKEY | Lizzette Atkins, George Gittoes
It’ll hard to beat Chasing Asylum, I reckon, what with its illegally smuggled footage of off-shore detention centres. George Gittoes’ Afghanistan-set Snow Monkey is a cross over with the APSA Award, which we looked at earlier this week. It is also definitely not about snow monkeys.
BEST SHORT ANIMATION
- THE ALBATROSS | Joel Best, Alex Jeremy, Alex Karonis
- THE CROSSING | Marieka Walsh, Donna Chang
- FEMME ENFANT | Bonnie Forsyth, Grace Lim
- OSCAR WILDE’S "THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE ROSE" | Angie Fielder, Brendan Fletcher, Del Kathryn Barton
BEST SHORT FICTION FILM
- BLUEY | Darlene Johnson ADG, Heather Oxenham S.P.A
- DREAM BABY | Lucy Gaffy, Kiki Dillon
- HOMEBODIES | Yianni Warnock, Charles Williams
- NATHAN LOVES RICKY MARTIN | Steven Arriagada, Llewellyn Michael Bates, Bryan Chau
Reader Comments (10)
I am so amused that GODS OF EGYPT can call itself an awards film. I am actually fond of it in a bad movies we love way.
I'm really glad to see "Goldstone" score some major nominations, but not a Best Actor nod for Aaron Pedersen? I was bowled over by his performance when I saw the film at the Sydney Film Festival. I'm similarly excited about the nods for "Down Under" - Abe Forsythe is such a genuine comedic talent.
I don't get the love for "Nathan Loves Ricky Martin" in the shorts category. It won at SFF too, and I just find it appalling.
GOE is so breathtakingly awful but in a Showgirls kinda way,it is so quotable and entertaining,a trash classic.
WE costumes were amazing...but I get your point and I also think THE DRESSMAKER should be Oscar nominated in that category!
there's an aborIginal dance film with nominations? CAN I SEE THIS PLEASE?
Quite interesting with Hacksaw Ridge. Can Mel really get some sort of broad recognition with it?
13 nominations here and when the Hollywood Film Awards throw their shenanigans on Nov. 6th it will receive 3 Awards; editing, makeup and a director award for Mel.
Nathaniel, highly doubtful. Although if you have a VPN you can watch it here until the end of the month http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/spear/AC1423H001S00
To be fair, Gods of Egypt is terrible and hilariously bad movie, but when you're dealing mostly with contemporary films, it's really easy to nominate it for costumes and the like.
(Note: most sentences below will have the prefix "I haven't seen HACKSAW RIDGE yet, but".)
I am slightly more in favour of PAWNO than you were, particularly the acting, so I was pleased with all the nominations it got. I would even argue that Brumpton is the best in his category (yes, over Leslie, and I am not a fool) and so that, combined with the veteran status that helped Michael Caton over the line last year, might make him a slight favourite?
Actress is interesting - my favourite is Dermody, but they might want to either coronate our newest "most likely to succeed internationally" Young, or acknowledge the work Palmer has done overseas.
I actually wasn't as big a fan of THE DAUGHTER as most Australian critics, and so I was OK with it not receiving a director nod (I describe the direction as "promising" more than "accomplished"). But the acting was top notch, and so I predict wins for Neill and Otto (the latter has never won an AFI/AACTA award, so there's a small "overdue" factor happening).
I don't know what will happen with Best Picture. We know they will corrupt the results if a small picture is going to win (the THE WATER DIVINER win still irks me), so maybe HACKSAW RIDGE. I think they might give Ivan Sen a second Best Director award, so they won't feel the need to acknowledge GOLDSTONE with the big prize as well. For both ASLEEP and TANNA, the nomination is the reward. But I can see a win for the crticial darling DAUGHTER.
(PS just a brief shout-out to the true best Australian film of the year IMO - EARLY WINTER - but I knew that had virtually zero chance of getting any nominations.)
On the TV front I am sad that Janet King didn't get more noms :( Especially Marta Dusseldorp.
Travis, I had issues with The Daughter as well and agree that the director nominees (well, again, except for Gibson who I haven't seen) are stellar choices who all offered up very clear directorial visions with distinct styles and points of view. The Daughter was sort of... prestige, mopey all-star drama. A win for Miranda Otto and for the screenplay ought to happen, however.
I haven't had the chance to see Early Winter, unfortunately. I hope to... eventually... when I'm offered the chance.