The "Wicked" workings of, you know who, the NBR!

by Nathaniel R 

Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in "Wicked". © Universal Pictures 

The National Board of Review has spoken. Though they once fought tooth and nail to be "first" they long ago ceded that title to the Gotham Awards who now announce their nominees a full two months before year's end. Crazy. It's one reason, at least, that earlier releases aren't totally doomed come awards season. So there's that. This year their secret membership roster must be eagerly awaited the 'sing along' version of Wicked that's coming this month; they've bestowed three awards on the phenomenally successful Broadway juggernaut turned blockbuster two-part movie: Best Film, Best Director, and a special prize for the leading actresses Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. It's quite a tonal departure from their favourite film last year which was Killers of the Flower Moon. Or is it? Both films involve a smart woman who gets a little dumb when it comes to men with obviously shady intention who aren't half the person she is. A stretch, I know, but it's fun to amuse yourself with forced connections from one year to the next. 

The NBR winners with commentary and trivia after the jump...

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A nice boost for "Nickel Boys" at the Gotham Awards and NYFCC

by Nathaniel R

This year’s small Gotham juries and the recurring members of the 40+ member New York Film Critics Circles have named their “bests” of 2024 in the past couple of days. The only film that managed to get kudos from both is RaMell Ross’s cinematic adaptation of the Pulitzer winning novel “The Nickel Boys”.

Winners and a few comments after the jump…

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BAFTA makes a split-decision on "Barbenheimer"

by Nathaniel R

Sandra Hüller scored double nominations with BAFTA. Can she repeat that trick at the Oscars?

While "Barbenheimer" has largely led the American precursor system's many many many many many awards bodies / nomination tallies, the British felt differently. They'll take only the latter half of that summertime phenom; Oppenheimer nabbed 13 nods but Barbie only received 5. The runner up to Oppenheimer's British dominance was Poor Things with 11 citations (though none of those went to either of its two supporting actors who've had a curious precursor season despite being in such a popular film.) Killers of the Flower Moon and Anatomy of a Fall and Germany's Sandra Hüller (double-nominated) were also very popular with BAFTA voters. 

All the nominations and commentary are after the jump...

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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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