GALECA Winners: Call Me By Your Given Name. "I gave it to myself"

by Nathaniel R

Dance party! "Call Me By Your Name" wins yet more prizesThe Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association have spoken and it probably won't surprise you to hear that they were "wilde" for Call Me By Your Name, Lady Bird, and Big Little Lies. As a member of the organization my only really gripe is that there are too many multiple winners (three prizes for Jordan Peele, two for Timothée Chalamet, two for Kate McKinnon, Call Me By Your Name winning both film categories) which can feel like overkill when there are so many beautiful achievements each year worth honoring. That's why some festival jury rules or some awards that are forbidden to give a film or performance multiple prizes make a kind of sense to me even though everyone gets up in arms about those kind of rules. 

But, regardless, the winners are listed after the jump as well as Kate McKinnon's musical performance winning SNL skit...

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Beauty vs Beast: The Darkest Elio

Jason from MNPP here with this week's "Beauty vs Beast" contest - we've been more or less working our way through the year's big awards contenders over the past few weeks, with a Three Billboards here and a Phantom Thread there, and knowing what you know about my oft-expressed personal... predilections... you'd be forgiven for expecting a proper Call Me By Your Name showdown at some point. But I can't do it! I can't pit (haha like a peach) Elio against Oliver. I refuse!

Thankfully the awards season has offered me an alternative. (For once the awards season doing me a favor!) While Timothee Chalamet's been racking up the critics prizes for his performance it's been widely assumed that the Oscar already has Gary Oldman's name engraved on it and has since the very first photograph of him in Churchill drag was revealed. But where would your vote go, I wonder...

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PREVIOUSLY Last week was the aforementioned Phantom-Thread-off, and finally some much deserved attention for Vicky Krieps, whose Alma plucked up about 70% of your mushrooms I mean votes. Said Claran:

"I thot Krieps is a discovered gem!! She matches DDL every step of the way n emerges the winner, well sorta... Its no an easy feat acting opp such icons like DDL or Manville n she holds up pretty well!! I'm surprised tt she din land a best newcomer mention w the BAFTA or NBR or any other critics group. She's the find o 2017, if u asked me."

Does 2017 = 2005 in Best Actor?

by Ben Miller

Film blogger Jordan Ruimy posited an observation a month ago on Twitter: 

In 2002 Gary Oldman would have been a cinch to win Best Actor, in 2017 he's a major question mark. The Oscars have changed.

While the awards season definitely shifted thereafter, his tweet remains at least partially true. Look at the history of the Best Actor Oscar.  From 1990 to 1997, every winner had a specific ailment (criminal insanity, alcoholism, AIDS), while 1998 to 2001 had a run of death scenes.  Of the past 16 years, starting with Adrien Brody in 2002, 10 winners have been for portrayals of real people (Casey Affleck's win last year broke a four-year run of biopic winners). There are always patterns to Oscar behavior.

This year’s slate of Best Actor nominees has an interesting parallel with the Best Actor race of 2005.  Let’s take a look back at the lineup...

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Soundtracking: "Call Me By Your Name"

by Chris Feil

Luca Guadagnino has become one of our top cinematic sensualists, making films built to be felt in the mind, body, and soul. Music is one of the key tools in his arsenal, particularly for how he uses rock music in ways that feel unburdened by music video tactics. Call Me By Your Name is no exception, with both classical and more electronic music highlighting the internal struggle of its protagonist Elio.

The film begins with a John Adams composition, projecting a similar personality to what Elio thinks is expected of him...

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The Oscar Week with Haddish in New York & Chastain in Palm Springs

by Murtada

Welcome back to The Oscar Week, where we follow Oscar contender appearances and interviews and examine how they impact their chances. After a 2 week hiatus, all the contenders were back in full campaign mode on both coasts, cramming in as many events as they could before the Golden Globes. Even hitherto missing person, Sally Hawkins, made an appearance at the Palm Springs Film Festival.

However the week, the moment, maybe even the year belonged to Tiffany Haddish. She took the New York Film Critics Circle awards dinner by storm, delivering an 18 minute epic speech. Here are a few excerpts:

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