DGA Nominees: Gerwig, Lanthimos, Nolan, Payne, and Scorsese

Greta Gerwig on the set of "Barbie". Photo by Jaap Buitendijk for Warner Bros.

The Directors Guild of America has announced their nominations for the film year just passed. They are:

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING ACHIEVEMENT, THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM

• Greta Gerwig, Barbie (2nd DGA nod) 
• Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things (1st DGA nod) 
• Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer (5th DGA nod) 
• Alexander Payne, The Holdovers (3rd DGA nod) 
• Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon (13th DGA nods in various categories, 2 previous wins, + 1 Lifetime Achievement Award) 

In short, the Best Picture frontrunners! All five of these films are locked up now in Oscar's headline category. It reminds us of ye olden times when armchair pundits knew that the DGA choices were more predictive of the eventual Best Picture nominees (back then more nail-biting with only five choices) than Oscar's Best Director lineup. Old factoids like that have vanished in the modern era when every film with considerable buzz ends up in the Best Picture lineup. But it's fun to think back on, especially in light of these choices...

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"Nyad" and "The Color Purple" get a boost from SAG

by Nathaniel R

Annette Bening and Jodie Foster in "Nyad". Photo by Kimberley French for Netflix

The Screen Actors Guild announced their annual nominations this morning and there are some minor plot twists. They rejected May December in totality (Todd Haynes movies do continue to struggle with non-critic based movie awards bodies), embraced Nyad just like the Globes did, and threw new question marks around both Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. No major plot twists this year, though, like an I Smile Back, Woman in Gold, or St. Vincent. 

The SAG Awards will stream live on Netflix this year – a first! – as we’ve long suspected awards shows will move to streaming like everything else has. Comments and a full list of nominees after the jump…

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Drag Race RuCap: “Rate-a-Queen”

Paraphrasing Alyssa Edwards, the RuCaps are back back back back back again. For the next few months, Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves will be following RuPaul’s Drag Race season sixteen…

Since Queen Bey won't do it, Sapphira Cristál provides her own RENAISSANCE visuals.

NICK: Okay, let me just say this to the readers right off the bat: These will not be as lengthy as they were last year, god willing. This is a challenge, a plea, a threat made to us, by us, for us. We are back, and we promise that no matter how long it takes us to finish, we’re gonna go over these episodes with so much depth, such thoroughness, that your heads will spin off your fucking necks. At least the split premiere means we don’t have to jump out of the gate evaluating fifteen queens. I for one enjoyed meeting half of this season’s contestants, all of whom seem entertaining and eager to be there. What did you think of season 16’s debut?

CLÁUDIO: First of all, I make no such promises cum threats. I know us and our propensity for verbal diarrhea so that just seems like an invitation for disappointment. We’re two size queens at heart, and we might as well accept it…

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321 Features vie for Oscars, but only 266 for Best Picture

by Cláudio Alves

Though a likely Best Visual Effects nominee, THE CREATOR is ineligible in the Best Picture race.

While we're still recovering from last night's Golden Globes (yay, Lily Gladstone!), the Academy has released its final eligibility lists pertaining to most categories outside the music, shorts, and specialized feature ones. Overall, 321 films will vie for Hollywood's little golden men. However, only 266 can compete for the Best Picture honor, a first in Oscar history. Such productions as Godland, Mami Wata, The Creator, The Marvels, and the new Ant-Man movie are out of the running. This year marks the start of RAISE - Academy Representation and Inclusion Standards – to whom films must submit a confidential form to guarantee Best Picture eligibility…

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Memorable Moments and Oscar Takeways from this year's Golden Globes

by Nathaniel R

Oppenheimer emerges as the big winner at the Globes (Photo by Rich Polk via Getty Images)

If you’re looking for a complete list of winners, that’s at the end of this post! 

Hello readers. Though I have been largely absent from writing, I am still me, therefore love movies and watch awards shows. The hilarious thing about my “notes” from awards shows (and also movies come to think of it) is that I always get so caught up in them that the notes ultimately end long before they should. The better the thing… the sooner the notes trail off! So herewith 8 expanded notes from the Globes, inspired by mostly indecipherable scribbles, and probably weighted towards earlier moments in the show...

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