Weekend Awards Wrap-Up: Regional Critics Groups Galore

by Cláudio Alves

Adrien Brody is on his way to his second Oscar nomination. Maybe his second victory.

When those critics honors start coming, a trickle quickly turns into a tsunami. There's so much to go over, but here's the general state of the race. Best Picture is a mess, with at least four contenders nabbing multiple top prizes this past week. Still, Anora and The Brutalist lead the pack. Adrien Brody and Mikey Madison are the critical frontrunners of their respective races, but Colman Domingo and Marianne Jean-Baptiste are trailing closely behind. Kieran Culkin is sweeping the Supporting Actor awards (even though he's a co-lead), but it's not a Da'Vine Joy Randolph-style sweep. After all, Maclin, Borisov, Pearce, and Washington have all won something. In Supporting Actress, chaos reigns…

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The Costume Designers Guild loves themselves some Witches

by Cláudio Alves

Paul Tazewell is dancing through the season, toward an Oscar win for WICKED.

PGA this, DGA that, SAG whatever. The most important guild in my heart is the Costume Designers Guild (CDG), formed by those great artists who clothe our movie stars and style the pictures we love so dearly. This year, they're feeling especially witchy with their nominations, somehow bestowing three nominations on Agatha All Along and two for the Dune universe and the formidable Bene Gesserit sisterhood. And, of course, there's Wicked with its aesthetically opposite duo – green does go well with pink. I imagine Paul Tazewell is about to win his first Academy Award for the blockbuster musical, this CDG nod and likely victory a stepping stone on his path to Oscar gold. 

But enough about magical women. Let's assess the complete CDG nominations…

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Randomness... 1987 (Part 1)

by Nathaniel R

BROADCAST NEWS (1987)

Once we reached the late 80s young Nathaniel was fully immersed in Oscar passions so there are less glaring omissions in films screened. Why am I talking about myself in the third person? Nevertheless 1987 is now so long ago that I really wonder about my initial take on so many of the movies. For instance, a lot of people I respect think very highly of The Dead – and it even gets a very loving homage in Almodovar’s current film The Room Next Door. I remember it as a high minded, intermittently potent drama but also kind of dull. It’s probable I was too young for it at the time (I did see it in theaters…and went specifically because Anjelica Huston had won the Oscar the previous year for 1985’s Prizzi’s Honor so I was in the flushes of new fandom). But we’re jumping ahead of ourselves.

NATHANIEL’S TOP TEN OF 1987 

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"Conclave" and "Wicked" Lead with Critics Choice Nods

by Nathaniel R

The Critics Choice, hot on the tail of the Golden Globe nominations, have weighed in on the cinematic year choosing the Pope-selection thriller Conclave and the first half of Wicked based on both the Broadway phenomenon and the lengthier best seller that inspired it as the "most" awards worthy title. They each amassed 11 nominations. [Full disclosure: I remain a member but trust that my ballots are not generally reflected in the consensus which always feel -- at least to me -- closer to Oscar predictions than passion ballots.]

BEST PICTURE... 

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The first Guild Nominations are here!

by Cláudio Alves

THE SUBSTANCE continues to be a hit with precursors. A rare feat for horror cinema.

So far, the season has been dominated by critics' awards, which, while worthy of attention, don't offer great help when it comes to predicting the Oscars. After all, AMPAS is formed by industry people rather than critics. So, the guilds are a better indicator of what might be a hit with the Academy and, at long last, we're starting to see the first guild nominations. These past few days, the American Cinema Editors (ACE) and the Makeup Artist & Hair Stylist Guild (MUHS) announced their yearly honors. The Producers Guild of America (PGA) also announced their documentary contenders. Let's see what we can deduce from the results so far…

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