Podcast: Everything you wanted to know about precursor awards week ... but were afraid to ask*

Nathaniel R and Murtada Elfadl welcome back NICK DAVIS! 

In this hour long conversation Nick, Murtada, and your TFE mastermind Nathaniel discuss the first gigantic week of precursor season. What hath the Globes and SAG wrought and who are we sad about (Alfre Woodard!) and who are we rooting for (Antonio Banderas) and the like. We're divided on Judy and Dark Waters and Robert DeNiro's The Irishman and we dunk a little on Richard Jewell and The Two Popes (sorry!). We also have words for NEON not finding a way to honor Clemency while pushing Parasite. Finally we try to suss out the impossible "Best Actor" race which is giving everyone predictive pause.  

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

Precursor Madness

Scripter Awards Nominations

by Murtada Elfadl

The USC Scripter awards announced their nominations today. It was another good day for The Irishman and Jojo Rabbit as they continue collecting accolades this month. Joining them are The Two Popes and Little Women whose record so far has been spotty. In a surprise, the fifth spot went to Dark Waters, which means that this is another precursor that passed on honoring Hustlers. Also missing is A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. It seems both films awards strengths lie only in their supporting players, Jennifer Lopez and Tom Hanks respectively. The other title ignored today was Joker, which could still rally with the Academy. 

The Scripter is an award presented annually by the University of Southern California (USC) to honor both screenwriters and the authors whose work they adapted...

Click to read more ...

Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, AAFCA, Phoenix, and Kansas Pick Their Winners

Little Women  was a hot commodity in the latest round of critics awards. The esteemed Boston Society of Film Critics and the relatively famous Chicago Film Critics Association and the actually very old Kansas City Film Critics have recently announced as have St Louis, Phoenix, and the AAFCA (African American Film Critics Association). Most of those groups found something to love in Greta Gerwig's period piece. Naturally the other usual suspects are accounted for again though The Irishman (which led with Parasite in early critics announcements) isn't particular beloved by today's roundup of associations and circles and societies winning no new Picture or Director prizes.

The winners and a few comments are after the jump...

Click to read more ...

A Best Picture think... what if there were only five?

by Nathaniel R

 

Consensus is taking clear shape with film critics and awards bodies. They're finding Parasite the very best film of 2019 fairly regularly now. In terms of both critics and larger more 'industry' organizations Martin Scorsese's elegaic The Irishman is leading the English language films in nomination counts and prizes. Noah Baumbach's impressive superbly-acted dramedy Marriage Story and Tarantino's shape-shifting gorgeously executed 1969 homage Once Upon a Time in Hollywood are not far behind in the collective love sweepstakes. That could mean that any of those four will be vying for the Best Picture win at the Oscars in February. With the preferential ballot it helps to have passion votes and all of them have that. It also helps to be everyone's second or third favourite and each of those films could theoretically score high on virtually any voter's ballot.

But what's in fifth place?

Since 2011 rules have been in place to deliver between 5 to 10 Best Picture nominees depending on percentages of votes. To date, though, this system has only produced years with either 8 or 9 nominees for the top prize. But a though exercize today. Which of the remaining films would make it in a year with only 5 films in play...

Click to read more ...

Best Actress Predictions - Is Saoirse In or Out?

by Nathaniel R

It’s strange to be entering an Oscar season where the Best Actor competition *might* be more thrilling than the Best Actress race. This never happens. At least not to us here at TFE where actresses are sacred and actors are, um, glorified seat-fillers...

Click to read more ...