2019 Academy Awards: ‘Green Book’ wins three Oscars, including Best Picture

February 24, 2019

by Carla Hay

 

"Green Book
Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen in “Green Book” (Photo by Patti Perret)

Universal Pictures’ “Green Book” won three Oscars, including Best Picture, at the 91st Academy Awards, which took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on February 24, 2019.  Meanwhile, Netflix’s Spanish-language film “Roma,”  which went into the ceremony tied with the most nominations (10), won four Oscars. There was no host for the show, following the controversy over Kevin Hart quitting the job over his past homophobic remarks, as well as disagreements over his public apologies for those remarks. ABC had the U.S. telecast of the Academy Awards ceremony, which is presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

“Green Book” is inspired by the true story of a friendship that develops between Italian-American driver Tony “Lip” Vallelonga and African-American pianist Don Shirley during a early 1960s road trip in the segregated South. “Green Book” also won Oscars for Best Supporting Actor (Marhershala Ali, who plays Shirley) and Best Original Screenplay, which was co-written by Nick Vallelonga (one of Tony Vallelonga’s sons) and director Peter Farrelly. “Green Book” is one of the few movies that has won the Oscar for Best Picture without its director getting a Best Director nomination.

“Roma” is inspired by filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón’s childhood in early 1970s Mexico, as seen through the perspective of his family’s nanny/housekeeper. “Roma” won the Oscars for Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Foreign Language Film.  Cuarón was a winner of all three of these Oscars, since he is the director and cinematographer of “Roma,” as well as one of the film’s producers.

The official Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” won four Oscars: Best Actor (for Rami Malek), Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing and Sound Mixing. 20th Century Fox’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture.

Fox Searchlight’s “The Favourite,” which had 10 nominations going into the ceremony, won one award that came as a surprise to many: Best Actress, for Olivia Colman, who triumphed over widely predicted Glenn Close of “The Wife,” who had been winning several major prizes in this category at other major award shows. “The Favourite,” set in the early 1700s, tells the story of Great Britain’s Queen Anne and two women who compete for her affections. Meanwhile, Regina King of “If Beale Street Could Talk” won for Best Supporting Actress.

Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther,” won three out its seven Oscar nominations: Best Original Score, Best Costume Design and Best Production Design. “Black Panther” now holds the record as the superhero movie with the most Oscars.

Presenters at the 2019 Academy Awards were Awkwafina, Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Tina Fey, Jennifer Lopez, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Amandla Stenberg, Tessa Thompson Constance Wu, Javier Bardem, Angela Bassett, Chadwick Boseman, Emilia Clarke, Laura Dern, Samuel L. Jackson, Stephan James, Keegan-Michael Key, KiKi Layne, James McAvoy, Melissa McCarthy, Jason Momoa, Sarah Paulson, Gary Oldman, Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, Allison Janney, Elsie Fisher, Danai Gurira, Brian Tyree Henry, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Keaton, Helen Mirren, John Mulaney, Tyler Perry, Pharrell Williams, Krysten Ritter, Paul Rudd, Michelle Yeoh, José Andrés, Dana Carvey, Queen Latifah, Congressman John Lewis, Diego Luna, Tom Morello, Mike Myers, Trevor Noah, Amandla Stenberg, Barbra Streisand and Serena Williams.

Queen with singer Adam Lambert opened the show with a medley of Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.” Other musical performances were for four of the five Oscar-nominated songs. Bette Midler sang “The Place Where Los Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns.” Jennifer Hudson performed “I’ll Fight” from “RBG.” David Rawlings and Gillian Welch performed “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.” Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper duetted on “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born,” which won the Oscar for Best Original Song. “All the Stars” from “Black Panther” was not performed since the song’s artists Kendrick Lamar and SZA declined to perform the song.

Donna Gigliotti (who won an Oscar for Best Picture for 1998’s “Shakespeare in Love) and Emmy-winning director Glenn Weiss were the producers of the 2019 Academy Awards. This was the first time that Gigliotti is producing the Oscar ceremony. Weiss has directed several major award shows, including the Oscars and the Tonys.

Diversity and Historic Wins

Rami Malek, Olivia Colman, Regina King and Mahershala Ali at the 91st Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on February 24, 2019. (Photo by Rick Rowell/ABC)

It was a historic Oscar ceremony for diversity, since it was a record-breaking Oscar ceremony, with the highest number so far (14) of non-whites winning Oscars in one year. Malek became the first Egyptian-American to win an Oscar for Best Actor. Ali of “Green Book” and Regina King of “If Beale Street Could Talk” joined the growing list of black actors who have won Oscars. “BlacKkKlansman” screenplay co-writer Spike Lee won his first Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. (Lee  also received an honorary Oscar, a non-competitive prize, in 2015.) Black filmmakers won in the categories for Best Adapted Screenplay (Lee and Kevin Willmott); Best Animated Feature (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” co-director Peter Ramsey); Best Production Design (Hannah Beachler of “Black Panther”); and Best Costume Design (Ruth Carter of “Black Panther”). It was the first time that black people have won Oscars for Best Animated Feature, Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.

Asian filmmakers also had several Oscar wins: “Free Solo” directors/producers Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyil won for Best Documentary Feature; “Bao” director Domee Shi won for Best Animated Short; and “Period. End of Sentence.” director/producer Rayka Zehtabchi won for Best Live-Action Short. “Roma” was the movie that gave Latinos the most representation at this year’s Academy Awards, with wins for Cuarón and producer Gabriela Rodríguez.

The number of female Oscar winners increased considerably in 2019, compared to 2018. In 2019, there were 15 female winners and 36 male winners, compared to 2018, when there were only six female winners and 24 male winners.

In addition, this was the first time in Oscar history that three of the four acting prizes went to LGBTQ character roles, and these characters also happened to be based on real people: Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Queen Anne of “The Favourite” and pianist Shirley of “Green Book.”

Here is the complete list of winners and nominations for the 2019 Academy Awards:

*=winner

Best Picture

Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen in “Green Book” (Photo by Patti Perret)

“Black Panther”
(Producer: Kevin Feige)

“BlacKkKlansman”
(Producers: Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Raymond Mansfield, Jordan Peele and Spike Lee)

“Bohemian Rhapsody”
(Producer: Graham King)

“The Favourite”
(Producers: Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday and Yorgos Lanthimos)

“Green Book”*
(Producers: Jim Burke, Charles B. Wessler, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga)

“Roma”
(Producers: Gabriela Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón)

“A Star Is Born”
(Producers: Bill Gerber, Bradley Cooper and Lynette Howell Taylor)

“Vice”
(Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Adam McKay and Kevin Messick)

Best Actor

Rami Malek and Gwilym Lee in “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Photo by Alex Bailey)

Christian Bale, “Vice”
Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”
Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”*
Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

Best Actress

Olivia Colman in “The Favourite” (Photo by Atsushi Nishijima)

Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”
Glenn Close, “The Wife”
Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”*
Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali in “Green Book” (Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures and Participant Media)

Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”*
Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

Best Supporting Actress

Regina King in “If Beale Street Could Talk” (Photo by Tatum Mangus)

Amy Adams, “Vice”
Marina de Tavira, “Roma”
Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”*
Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

Best Director

Alfonso Cuarón and Yalitza Aparicio on the set of “Roma” (Photo by Carlos Somonte/Netflix)

Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”
Paweł Pawlikowski, “Cold War”
Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”
Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”*
Adam McKay, “Vice”

Best Animated Feature

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” (Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Animation)

“Incredibles 2,” directed by Brad Bird; produced by John Walker and Nicole Paradis Grindle

“Isle of Dogs,” directed and produced by Wes Anderson; produced by Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson

“Mirai,” directed by Mamoru Hosoda; produced by Yuichiro Saito

“Ralph Breaks the Internet,” directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston; produced by Clark Spencer

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman; produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller*

Best Animated Short

“Animal Behaviour,” directed and produced by Alison Snowden and David Fine
“Bao,” directed by Domee Shi; produced by Becky Neiman-Cobb*
“Late Afternoon,” directed by Louise Bagnall; produced by Nuria González Blanco
“One Small Step,” directed by Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas
“Weekends,” directed and produced by Trevor Jimenez

Best Adapted Screenplay

Spike Lee and Adam Driver on the set of “BlacKkKlansman” (Photo by David Lee/ Focus Features)

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
“BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Spike Lee*
“Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
“If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins
“A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper and Will Fetters

Best Original Screenplay

Viggo Mortensen, writer/director/producer Peter Farrelly and Mahershala Ali on the set of “Green Book” (Photo by Patti Perret)

“The Favourite,” Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
“First Reformed,” Paul Schrader
“Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie and Peter Farrelly*
“Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón
“Vice,” Adam McKay

Best Cinematography

Marco Graf, Daniela Demesa, Yalitza Aparicio, Marina De Tavira, Diego Cortina Autrey and Carlos Peralta Jacobson in “Roma” (Photo by Carlos Somonte)

“Cold War,” Łukasz Żal
“The Favourite,” Robbie Ryan
“Never Look Away,” Caleb Deschanel
“Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón*
“A Star Is Born,” Matthew Libatique

Best Documentary Feature

Alex Honnold in “Free Solo” (Photo courtesy of National Geographic)

“Free Solo,” directed and produced by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyil; produced by Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill*

“Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” directed and produced by RaMell Ross; produced by Joslyn Barnes and Su Kim

“Minding the Gap,” directed and produced by Bing Liu; produced by Diane Quon

“Of Fathers and Sons,” directed by Talal Derki; produced by Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme and Tobias N. Siebert

“RBG,” directed and produced by Betsy West and Julie Cohen

Best Documentary Short Subject

“Black Sheep,” directed by Ed Perkins; produced by Jonathan Chinn
“End Game,” directed and produced by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
“Lifeboat,” directed and produced by Skye Fitzgerald
“A Night at the Garden,” directed and produced by Marshall Curry
“Period. End of Sentence.,” directed and produced by Rayka Zehtabchi*

Best Live Action Short Film

“Detainment,” directed and produced by Vincent Lambe; produced by Darren Mahon
“Fauve,” directed by Jeremy Comte; produced by Maria Gracia Turgeon
“Marguerite,” directed by Marianne Farley; produced by Marie-Hélène Panisset
“Mother,” directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen; produced by María del Puy Alvarado
“Skin,” directed and produced by Guy Nattiv; produced by Jaime Ray Newman*

Best Foreign Language Film

Yalitza Aparicio, Marco Graf, Carlos Peralta Jacobson and Daniela Demesa in “Roma” (Photo by Alfonso Cuarón)

“Capernaum” (Lebanon)
“Cold War” (Poland)
“Never Look Away” (Germany)
“Roma” (Mexico)*
“Shoplifters” (Japan)

Best Film Editing

Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Rami Malek and Joe Mazzello in “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox)

“BlacKkKlansman,” Barry Alexander Brown
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Ottman*
“Green Book,” Patrick J. Don Vito
“The Favourite,” Yorgos Mavropsaridis
“Vice,” Hank Corwin

Best Sound Editing

Gwilym Lee, Rami Malek and Joe Mazzello in “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox)

“Black Panther,” Benjamin A. Burtt and Steve Boeddeker
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Warhurst*
“First Man,” Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
“A Quiet Place,” Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
“Roma,” Sergio Diaz and Skip Lievsay

Best Sound Mixing

Joe Mazzello, Ben Hardy, Rami Malek and Gwilym Lee in “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Photo by Alex Bailey)

“Black Panther,” Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor and Peter Devlin
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali*
“First Man,” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Ai-Ling Lee and Mary H. Ellis
“Roma,” Skip Lievsay, Craig Henighan and José Antonio García
“A Star Is Born,” Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Jason Ruder and Steve Morrow

Best Production Design

Michael B. Jordan and Daniel Kaluuya in “Black Panther” (Photo courtesy of Disney/Marvel Studios)

“Black Panther”*
Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Jay Hart

“The Favourite”
Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton

“First Man”
Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas

“Mary Poppins Returns”
Production Design: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim

“Roma”
Production Design: Eugenio Caballero; Set Decoration: Bárbara Enríquez

Best Original Score

Lupita Nyong’o and Chadwick Boseman in “Black Panther” (Photo courtesy of Disney/Marvel Studios)

“BlacKkKlansman,” Terence Blanchard
“Black Panther,” Ludwig Goransson*
“If Beale Street Could Talk,” Nicholas Britell
“Isle of Dogs,” Alexandre Desplat
“Mary Poppins Returns,” Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman

Best Original Song

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in “A Star Is Born” (Photo by Clay Enos)

“All the Stars” from “Black Panther,” song written by Kendrick Lamar, Solana Rowe (SZA), Mark Spears and Anthony Tiffith

“I’ll Fight” from “RBG,” song written by Diane Warren

“The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns,” song written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman

“Shallow” from “A Star Is Born,” song written by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice*

“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” song written by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Amy Adams and Christian Bale in “Vice” (Photo by Matt Kennedy)

“Border,” Göran Lundström and Pamela Goldammer
“Mary Queen of Scots,” Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks
“Vice,” Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney*

Best Costume Design

Lupita Nyong’o and Letitia Wright in “Black Panther” (Photo by Matt Kennedy)

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Mary Zophres
“Black Panther,” Ruth E. Carter*
“The Favourite,” Sandy Powell
“Mary Poppins Returns,” Sandy Powell
“Mary Queen of Scots,” Alexandra Byrne

Best Visual Effects

Ryan Gosling in “First Man”  (Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures)

“Avengers: Infinity War,” Dan DeLeeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl and Dan Sudick

“Christopher Robin,” Christopher Lawrence, Michael Eames, Theo Jones and Chris Corbould

“First Man,” Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm*

“Ready Player One,” Roger Guyett, Grady Cofer, Matthew E. Butler and David Shirk

“Solo: A Star Wars Story,” Rob Bredow, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Dominic Tuohy

2019 Academy Awards: ‘Roma’ and ‘The Favourite’ are the top nominees

January 22, 2019

by Carla Hay

Yalitza Aparicio in "Roma"
Yalitza Aparicio in “Roma” (Photo by Alfonso Cuarón)
Rachel Weisz and Olivia Colman in “The Favourite” (Photo by Yorgos Lanthimos)

With 10 nominations each, including Best Picture, the Spanish-language drama “Roma” and the British dark comedy “The Favourite” are the leading nominees for the 91st Academy Awards, which will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on February 24, 2019. There is no host for the show, following the controversy over Kevin Hart quitting the job over his past homophobic remarks, as well as disagreements over his public apologies for those remarks. ABC will have the U.S. telecast of the Academy Awards ceremony, which is presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Actor/screenwriter Kumail Nanjiani and actress Tracee Ellis Ross announced the nominations on January 22 at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California.

Netflix’s “Roma” is inspired by filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón’s childhood in early 1970s Mexico, as seen through the perspective of his family’s nanny/housekeeper. Fox Searchlight’s “The Favourite,” set in the early 1700s, tells the story of Great Britain’s Queen Anne and two women who compete for her affections.

As of 2010, the Academy can nominate up to 10 movies for Best Picture. This year, there are only eight movies that made the list: In addition to “Roma” and “The Favourite,” the other Best Picture contenders are “BlacKkKlansman,” “Black Panther,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Green Book,” “A Star Is Born” and “Vice.” Of those contenders, “A Star is Born” and “Vice” have eight nominations each; “Black Panther” scored seven nods; “BlacKkKlansman” has six nominations; and “Green Book” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” received five nods each.

In the categories for actors, actresses and directors, most of the contenders are those who have been the same nominees or winners at other award shows leading up to the Oscars. However, there were some nominations that were not widely predicted.

Snubs and Surprises

Bradley Cooper (pictured at left) on the set of “A Star Is Born” (Photo by Clay Enos)

The Oscars can always be counted on to have some nominations that are very different from the other major movie awards. The biggest snub was Bradley Cooper of “A Star Is Born” being shut out of the Best Director category, even though he was nominated for that prize at just about every other award show where movies from major studios are eligible. (Cooper’s 2018 remake of “A Star Is Born” was released by Warner Bros. Pictures.) Cooper, who made his directorial debut with “A Star Is Born,” still received three Oscar nominations for the movie: Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay. (He’s also one of the movie’s producers and screenwriters.)

The biggest surprises were the nominations for the two main actresses from “Roma”: Yalitza Aparicio (for Best Actress) and Marina de Tavira (for Best Supporting Actress). Aparicio, who made her film debut in “Roma,” got very little recognition on the awards circuit leading up to the Oscars: She picked up a Critics’ Choice nomination and won a Hollywood Film Award for her role in the movie, but she was passed over for nominations at just about all the other movie award shows. Meanwhile, de Tavira was completely shut out of being nominated at all other major U.S.-based movie award shows until the Oscars.

Another big surprise was Paweł Pawlikowski getting a Best Director nomination for his Polish-language “Cold War,” which is, just like “Roma,” a period movie filmed in black-and-white in a non-English language and distributed by a streaming service. (Amazon is distributing “Cold War.”) Pawlikowski’s nomination for Best Director was also unusual because it’s rare for someone to get an Oscar nomination for Best Director for a movie that is not nominated for Best Picture. In addition to Pawlikowski, the other Best Director nominees are Spike Lee for “BlacKkKlansman”; Yorgos Lanthimos for “The Favourite”; Alfonso Cuarón for “Roma”; and Adam McKay for “Vice.” “Cold War” had been widely predicted to get Oscar nominations for Best Foreign-Language Film and Best Cinematography, and the movie did get those nods, but it’s got stiff competition from “Roma” in all of those categories.

Amazon Studios’ robust awards campaign for Timothée Chalamet and his supporting role in the drug-addiction drama “Beautiful Boy” seemed to be paying off, since he was getting nominated at several award shows, but Chalamet and “Beautiful Boy” were ultimately shut out of the Oscar race. And so was another buzzworthy “based on a true story” drama about a troubled teenage son: Focus Features’ “Boy Erased,” starring Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe as a family affected by the controversial practices of gay-conversion therapy.

Ethan Hawke in “First Reformed” (Photo courtesy of A24)

Ethan Hawke won the majority of critics’ awards for Best Actor for his role in A24’s “First Reformed,” but he was shut out of the Oscar race for the movie. Although he was a critics’ darling, Hawke did very little awards campaigning for the movie, which probably hurt his chances of being nominated for an Oscar. (He was also snubbed this year by the Screen Actors Guild Awards and Golden Globe Awards.) Instead, the only Oscar nomination for writer/director Paul Schrader’s “First Reformed” was Best Original Screenplay.

Horror movies are typically overlooked by the Academy Awards (2017’s “Get Out” was one of the few exceptions), and this year continued that snubbing pattern, with critically acclaimed “A Quiet Place”from Paramount Pictures getting just one nomination (Best Sound Editing) and A24’s “Hereditary” (which had its share of passionate fans and detractors) getting completely shut out of the race.

It hasn’t been a good Oscar year for independent film distributor A24, which previously scored Oscar gold for 2016’s “Moonlight,” winner of the prizes for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor. A24 lost some of its Oscar momentum for its movies released in 2017: “Lady Bird” received five Oscar nominations but no Oscar wins, while the Oscar campaign for “The Disaster Artist” imploded when the movie’s star/director James Franco was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women during the final week of Oscar nomination voting. Franco was snubbed by the Academy for “The Disaster Artist,” and the movie ended up with only one Oscar nomination:  Best Adapted Screenplay, for writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. This year, A24’s “Hereditary” and the critically acclaimed teen comedy “Eighth Grade” were completely shut out for Oscar nominations, while A24’s only Oscar nod for a 2018 movie was for the previously mentioned Best Original Screenplay nomination for “First Reformed.”

As streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu continue to increase their clout in the movie industry, traditional independent studios are struggling to keep up with getting hit movies and major awards. A24 isn’t the only independent studio whose awards influence has faded for movies released in 2018. Neon hit a home run in its first year in business with 2017’s “I, Tonya,” which scooped up several major awards (including an Oscar) for Allison Janney’s supporting performance. However, Neon’s 2018 movies have mostly been passed over for winning awards: The Natalie Portman music-oriented drama “Vox Lux” and the documentary “Three Identical Strangers” were Neon’s biggest awards hopefuls of the year, but those two films have been completely shut out of Oscar nominations. Neon’s only Oscar nod for a 2018 film is Best Makeup and Hairstyling for the troll movie “Border,” which has tough competition with category frontrunner “Vice.”

Emily Blunt in “Mary Poppins Returns” (Photo by Jay Maidment/Disney Enterprises, Inc.)

Disney’s musical sequel “Mary Poppins Returns” didn’t get Oscar nominations for Best Picture, lead actress Emily Blunt and supporting actor Lin-Manuel Miranda, but the movie got expected nominations for Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Original Score and Best Original Song.

Universal Pictures’ “First Man,” which depicts astronaut Neil Armstrong’s journey to being the first man on the moon, started out strong after getting rave reviews at the 2018 Venice Film Festival, but Oscar buzz for “First Man” (starring Ryan Gosling as Armstrong) considerably faded after the movie fizzled at the box office and got snubbed in most of the major categories at several award shows. Best Original Score was the only category for which “First Man” was winning the most awards leading up to the Oscars. The prizes for “First Man” composer Justin Hurwitz included a Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Award. Therefore, it was surprising that he didn’t get an Oscar nomination in this category. “First Man” did receive four Oscar nods, but only in technical categories: Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects. “First Man” was director Damien Chazelle’s follow-up to his award-winning hit “La La Land” (which won six Oscars, including Best Director), so “First Man” getting snubbed in the biggest Oscar categories is a big step down for Chazelle.

Focus Features’ “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” the Fred Rogers biography directed by Morgan Neville, was widely predicted as the frontrunner for Best Documentary Feature because the movie had been winning most of the documentary awards up until this point, but the movie failed to get an Oscar nomination. Instead, “Of Fathers and Sons,” a movie about a radical Islamist family, received a surprise Oscar nomination, after being passed over for nominations at every other major award show that gives prizes to documentary feature films. So why the Oscar snub for “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” The Academy tends to reward documentaries that have a great deal of original footage (in other words, not relying too heavily on archived footage), and the Academy voters prefer investigative documentaries that uncover a lot of information that was not widely known to the general public. “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” was undoubtedly a feel-good popular movie, but perhaps Academy voters considered it to be too much of a safe and conventional documentary where the filmmakers didn’t challenge themselves enough, beyond collecting archived footage and getting authorized interviews with Rogers’ family and colleagues.

Despite all the hoopla over the romantic comedy “Crazy Rich Asians,” the movie was completely shut out of the Oscar race. Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Crazy Rich Asians,” which was a big international hit, was the first major Hollywood studio movie to have an all-Asian cast since 1993’s “The Joy Luck Club.” “Crazy Rich Asians” got mostly positive reviews from critics, but the movie’s formulaic plot with over-used clichés seem to have severely hurt its chances of being taken seriously by Oscar voters.

In other categories, surprises included the German film “Never Look Away” (distributed in the U.S. by Sony Pictures Classics) getting nominations for Best Foreign-Language Film and Best Cinematography after being passed over for those nominations at almost all of the other movie award shows. The Academy rewarded “Never Look Away” with Oscar nominations, but snubbed South Korea’s “Burning” for Best Foreign-Language Film and “Black Panther” for Best Cinematography, even though “Burning” and “Black Panther” scored those nominations at several other award shows.

Diversity Issues

Lupita Nyong’o, Chadwick Boseman and Danai Gurira in “Black Panther” (Photo courtesy of Disney/Marvel Studios)

Ever since the #OscarsSoWhite backlash of 2015 and 2016, the Academy has been under intense scrutiny over diversity issues when it comes to race and gender. (Most of the Academy members and Oscar nominees are white males.) The Academy has made public efforts to invite more women and people of color into its membership in recent years. There has been a little more diversity, in terms of who gets nominated for Oscars, but there is still a long way to go for most of the behind-the-scenes technical categories, such as editing, visual effects, original score and cinematography. The good news for Oscar diversity in 2019 is that there is at least one person of color nominated in each of the four acting categories. In addition, several women and people of color are nominated in the category of Best Picture, an award that goes to a film’s producer(s). They are Jordan Peele and Spike Lee (African-American males) for “BlacKkKlansman”; and Ceci Dempsey and Lee Magiday (white females) for “The Favourite”; Gabriela Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón (Latinos) for “Roma”; Lynette Howell Taylor (white female) for “A Star Is Born”; and Dede Gardner (white female) for “Vice.”

In other gender-neutral Oscar categories, women did not make much progress, compared to the 2018 Academy Awards. In 2019, there were no women nominated in the Oscar categories of Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing and Best Original Score. (In 2018, the categories of Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing each had one female nominee, while Best Original Score continued to have only male nominees.) And in the categories of Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay, only one woman was nominated in each category in 2019, and they share the nomination with a man.

The categories for Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyling have traditionally been dominated by women. All of this year’s nominees for Best Costume Design are female, while women are 62.5 percent of this year’s Best Makeup and Hairstyling nominees. The gender-neutral categories that have the most gender parity this year are Best Production Design, Best Original Song and Best Documentary Feature, where women are almost half of the nominees in each category.

Hannah Beachler of “Black Panther” became the first African-American to get an Oscar nomination for Best Production Design. African-Americans earned other rare nominations in categories that are typically dominated by white/Caucasian filmmakers: “BlacKkKlansman” had the most nominations this year for black filmmakers: Spike Lee earned three nods as a director, producer and screenwriter, while producer Jordan Peele, screenwriter Kevin Willmott and composer Terence Blanchard were also nominated for the movie. “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” co-director Peter Ramsey is among the nominees for Best Animated Feature; costume designer Ruth E. Carter is a contender for “Black Panther”; and Barry Jenkins of “If Beale Street Could Talk” is up for Best Adapted Screenplay, an Oscar that he won for 2016’s “Moonlight,” making him only the third black person to win an Oscar in that category. Other black Oscar nominees this year are Kendrick Lamar, Solana Rowe (also known as SZA), Mark Spears and Anthony Tiffith, who all co-wrote Best Original Song nominee “All the Stars” from “Black Panther.”

“Roma” was the movie that gave Latinos the most representation at this year’s Academy Awards, and “Roma” is expected to win multiple Oscars. In addition to Cuarón and actresses Aparicio and de Tavira, other “Roma” Oscar nominees are producer Gabriela Rodríguez (Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film); Sergio Diaz (Best Sound Editing); José Antonio García (Best Sound Mixing);and Eugenio Caballero and Bárbara Enríquez (Best Production Design), It’s also worth noting that three Mexican directors (Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo del Toro) have won several of the Best Director awards in the 2010s decade. Cuarón, who is the frontrunner to win for “Roma,” previously won the Best Director prize for 2013’s “Gravity”; Iñárritu won for 2014’s “Birdman” and 2015’s “The Revenant”‘; and del Toro won for 2017’s “The Shape of Water.”

Even though “Crazy Rich Asians” didn’t get any Oscar nominations, that doesn’t mean that Asians were completely snubbed by the Academy this year. Asians who received Oscar nominations include cinematographer Matthew Libatique for “A Star Is Born”; director Mamoru Hosoda and producer Yuichiro Saito for the animated film “Mirai”; director Hirokazu Kore-eda, who scored a Best Foreign-Language Film nod for Japan’s “Shoplifters”; and director Bobby Pontillas, who earned a Best Animated Short nomination for  co-directing “One Small Step.” The category of Best Documentary Feature had the highest Asian representation, with directors/producers Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi for “Free Solo”; director/producer Bing Liu and producer Diane Quon for “Minding the Gap”; director Talal Derki (who is of Syrian/Middle Eastern descent) for “Of Fathers and Sons”; and producer Su Kim for “Hale County This Morning, This Evening.”

Notable Milestones

Alfonso Cuarón and Yalitza Aparicio on the set of “Roma” (Photo by Carlos Somonte/Netflix)

The 2019 Oscar race has several milestones. “Roma” is the first Netflix movie to get an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, although it’s not the first streaming service to score a nomination in that category. That milestone was achieved by Amazon’s 2016 drama “Manchester by the Sea,” which went on to win Best Actor (for Casey Affleck) and Best Original Screenplay (for Kenneth Lonergan).  Netflix won its first Oscar for the 2017 documentary feature film “Icarus.” If “Roma” wins Best Picture, it will be not only be the first movie from a streaming service to win Best Picture at the Oscars, but also the first non-English-language movie to win the prize.

As widely predicted, Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther” was nominated for Best Picture, making it the first superhero movie to be nominated in this Oscar category. However, with no Oscar nominations in the categories for acting, directing or screenplay, “Black Panther” is a long shot to win Best Picture. The other Oscar nominations for “Black Panther” are for Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Original Score and Best Original Song.

“BlacKkKlansman” filmmaker Spike Lee, who has been making critically acclaimed movies since the 1980s, received his first Oscar nomination for Best Director, after being passed over in that category for decades. Lee, who is one of the producers and screenwriters of Focus Features’ “BlacKkKlansman,” also picked up nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, which are also his first Oscar nominations in those categories. He was previously nominated for Best Original Screenplay for 1989’s “Do the Right Thing” and Best Documentary Feature for 1997’s “4 Little Girls.” Lee  also received an honorary Oscar (a non-competitive prize) in 2015.

Spike Lee and Adam Driver on the set of “BlacKkKlansman” (Photo by David Lee/ Focus Features)

Here is the complete list of nominations for the 2019 Academy Awards:

Best Picture
“Black Panther”
(Producer: Kevin Feige)

“BlacKkKlansman”
(Producers: Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Raymond Mansfield, Jordan Peele and Spike Lee)

“Bohemian Rhapsody”
(Producer: Graham King)

“The Favourite”
(Producers: Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday and Yorgos Lanthimos)

“Green Book”
(Producers: Jim Burke, Charles B. Wessler, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga)

“Roma”
(Producers: Gabriela Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón)

“A Star Is Born”
(Producers: Bill Gerber, Bradley Cooper and Lynette Howell Taylor)

“Vice”
(Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Adam McKay and Kevin Messick)

Best Actor
Christian Bale, “Vice”
Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”
Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

Best Actress
Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”
Glenn Close, “The Wife”
Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, “Vice”
Marina de Tavira, “Roma”
Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

Best Director
Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”
Paweł Pawlikowski, “Cold War”
Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”
Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”
Adam McKay, “Vice”

Best Animated Feature
“Incredibles 2,” directed by Brad Bird; produced by John Walker and Nicole Paradis Grindle

“Isle of Dogs,” directed and produced by Wes Anderson; produced by Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson

“Mirai,” directed by Mamoru Hosoda; produced by Yuichiro Saito

“Ralph Breaks the Internet,” directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston; produced by Clark Spencer

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman; produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Best Animated Short
“Animal Behaviour,” directed and produced by Alison Snowden and David Fine
“Bao,” directed by Domee Shi; produced by Becky Neiman-Cobb
“Late Afternoon,” directed by Louise Bagnall; produced by Nuria González Blanco
“One Small Step,” directed by Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas
“Weekends,” directed and produced by Trevor Jimenez

Best Adapted Screenplay
“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
“BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Spike Lee
“Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
“If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins
“A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper and Will Fetters

Best Original Screenplay
“The Favourite,” Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
“First Reformed,” Paul Schrader
“Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie and Peter Farrelly
“Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón
“Vice,” Adam McKay

Best Cinematography
“Cold War,” Łukasz Żal
“The Favourite,” Robbie Ryan
“Never Look Away,” Caleb Deschanel
“Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón
“A Star Is Born,” Matthew Libatique

Best Documentary Feature
“Free Solo,” directed and produced by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyil; produced by Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill

“Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” directed and produced by RaMell Ross; produced by Joslyn Barnes and Su Kim

“Minding the Gap,” directed and produced by Bing Liu; produced by Diane Quon

“Of Fathers and Sons,” directed by Talal Derki; produced by Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme and Tobias N. Siebert

“RBG,” directed and produced by Betsy West and Julie Cohen

Best Documentary Short Subject
“Black Sheep,” directed by Ed Perkins; produced by Jonathan Chinn
“End Game,” directed and produced by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
“Lifeboat,” directed and produced by Skye Fitzgerald
“A Night at the Garden,” directed and produced by Marshall Curry
“Period. End of Sentence.,” directed and produced by Rayka Zehtabchi

Best Live Action Short Film
“Detainment,” directed and produced by Vincent Lambe; produced by Darren Mahon
“Fauve,” directed by Jeremy Comte; produced by Maria Gracia Turgeon
“Marguerite,” directed by Marianne Farley; produced by Marie-Hélène Panisset
“Mother,” directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen; produced by María del Puy Alvarado
“Skin,” directed and produced by Guy Nattiv; produced by Jaime Ray Newman

Best Foreign Language Film
“Capernaum” (Lebanon)
“Cold War” (Poland)
“Never Look Away” (Germany)
“Roma” (Mexico)
“Shoplifters” (Japan)

Best Film Editing
“BlacKkKlansman,” Barry Alexander Brown
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Ottman
“Green Book,” Patrick J. Don Vito
“The Favourite,” Yorgos Mavropsaridis
“Vice,” Hank Corwin

Best Sound Editing
“Black Panther,” Benjamin A. Burtt and Steve Boeddeker
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Warhurst
“First Man,” Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
“A Quiet Place,” Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
“Roma,” Sergio Diaz and Skip Lievsay

Best Sound Mixing
“Black Panther,” Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor and Peter Devlin
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali
“First Man,” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Ai-Ling Lee and Mary H. Ellis
“Roma,” Skip Lievsay, Craig Henighan and José Antonio García
“A Star Is Born,” Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Jason Ruder and Steve Morrow

Best Production Design
“Black Panther”
Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Jay Hart

“The Favourite”
Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton

“First Man”
Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas

“Mary Poppins Returns”
Production Design: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim

“Roma”
Production Design: Eugenio Caballero; Set Decoration: Bárbara Enríquez

Best Original Score
“BlacKkKlansman,” Terence Blanchard
“Black Panther,” Ludwig Goransson
“If Beale Street Could Talk,” Nicholas Britell
“Isle of Dogs,” Alexandre Desplat
“Mary Poppins Returns,” Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman

Best Original Song
“All the Stars” from “Black Panther,” song written by Kendrick Lamar, Solana Rowe (SZA), Mark Spears and Anthony Tiffith

“I’ll Fight” from “RBG,” song written by Diane Warren

“The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns,” song written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman

“Shallow” from “A Star Is Born,” song written by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice

“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” song written by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
“Border,” Göran Lundström and Pamela Goldammer
“Mary Queen of Scots,” Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks
“Vice,” Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney

Best Costume Design
“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Mary Zophres
“Black Panther,” Ruth E. Carter
“The Favourite,” Sandy Powell
“Mary Poppins Returns,” Sandy Powell
“Mary Queen of Scots,” Alexandra Byrne

Best Visual Effects
“Avengers: Infinity War,” Dan DeLeeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl and Dan Sudick

“Christopher Robin,” Christopher Lawrence, Michael Eames, Theo Jones and Chris Corbould

“First Man,” Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm

“Ready Player One,” Roger Guyett, Grady Cofer, Matthew E. Butler and David Shirk

“Solo: A Star Wars Story,” Rob Bredow, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Dominic Tuohy

2019 Golden Globe Awards: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ ‘Green Book’ win big

January 6, 2019

by Carla Hay

Golden Globes trophy

“Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Green Book” were the top movie winners at the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards, which took place at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on January 6, 2019. NBC had the U.S. telecast of the 2019 Golden Globe Awards, which was hosted by Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh. Dick Clark Productions produced the show. The Golden Globe Awards are voted for by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Eligible movies were those with U.S. release dates in 2018, while eligible TV shows were those that televised new episodes in the U.S. in 2018.

“Bohemian Rhapsody,” the official biopic of rock band Queen and its lead singer Freddie Mercury, won the two prizes for which it was nominated:  Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama (for Rami Malek, who played Mercury). The victories for “Bohemian Rhapsody” no doubt surprised the many pundits who predicted that the 2018 remake of “A Star Is Born” and its leading actor Bradley Cooper would take those prizes.

Meanwhile, “Green Book,” which told the true story of an unlikely friendship that developed in 1962 between highly educated pianist Don Shirley and blue-collar driver Tony “Lip” Vallelonga, won the most prizes (three) at the 2019 Golden Globes: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy; Best Supporting Actor (for Mahershala Ali, who plays Shirley); and Best Screenplay.

Other multiple winners, with two prizes each, were the Spanish-language drama “Roma”; the miniseries “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”; and the comedy series “The Kominsky Method.” As expected, the Alfonso Cuarón-directed “Roma” won the prizes for Best Director and Best Foreign Language Film.

Besides “Bohemian Rhapsody” taking the top movie drama prize, the other big surprise win in the movie categories was Glenn Close of “The Wife,” who won Best Actress in a  Motion Picture – Drama, instead of the widely predicted Lady Gaga of the 2018 remake of “A Star Is Born.”  In the end, 2018’s “A Star Is Born” won just one Golden Globe: Best Original Song, for “Shallow,” which was co-written by Lady Gaga. “Vice,” which went into the ceremony with the most nominations (six), ultimately won just one Golden Globe: Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, which went to Christian Bale for his portrayal of former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. Bale had been widely predicted to win the award. Another widely predicted victory was Olivia Colman of “The Favourite,” who won for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

In the TV categories, first-time Golden Globe winner Richard Madden of “Bodyguard” was a surprise win for Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama, instead of the Matthew Rhys of “The Americans,” who won an Emmy for the show’s final season. However, “The Americans” did win the prize for Best Television Series – Drama, as expected. For the prize of Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, “The Kominsky Method” triumphed over “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” the category’s previous Golden Globe winner. However, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” star Rachel Brosnahan repeated her Golden Globe win from 2018 to take the prize again for Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy.  Meanwhile, Michael Douglas of “The Kominsky Method” won the award for Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy. “The Kominsky Method” debuted in the second half of 2018, and will be eligible for the Emmy Awards for the first time in 2019.

“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” which won several Emmys in 2018, was the leading TV nominee going into the Golden Globes, with four nominations. As expected, the two Golden Globes it won were for Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, while Darren Criss (who played serial killer Andrew Cunanan) won for Best Actor in a Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. Golden Globes co-host Oh of “Killing Eve” won the prize for Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama.

In the non-competitive categories, Jeff Bridges received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for career achievement, while Carol Burnett was the first recipient of the Carol Burnett Award, which is given for outstanding contributions to television.

Presenters at the Golden Globe Awards included Halle Berry, Kristen Bell, Emily Blunt, Chadwick Boseman, Sterling K. Brown, Steve Carell,  Jessica Chastain, Olivia Colman, Bradley Cooper, Kaley Cuoco, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dick Van Dyke, Taron Egerton, Idris Elba, Harrison Ford, Johnny Galecki, Richard Gere, Danai Gurira, Justin Hartley, Amber Heard, Taraji P. Henson, Felicity Huffman, Allison Janney, Michael B. Jordan, Nicole Kidman, Lady Gaga, Lucy Liu, William H. Macy, Chrissy Metz, Mike Myers, Julianne Moore, Bill Murray, Lupita Nyong’o, Gary Oldman, Jim Parsons,  Amy Poehler, Sam Rockwell, Gina Rodriguez, Maya Rudolph, Saoirse Ronan, Octavia Spencer, Ben Stiller, Emma Stone, Taylor Swift, Lena Waithe, Rachel Weisz and Catherine Zeta-Jones

Here is the complete list of  winners and nominations for the 2019 Golden Globe Awards:

*=winner

MOVIES

Best Motion Picture – Drama
“Black Panther”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”*
“If Beale Street Could Talk”
“A Star Is Born”

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Glenn Close (“The Wife”)*

Lady Gaga (“A Star Is Born”)
Nicole Kidman (“Destroyer”)
Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”)
Rosamund Pike (“A Private War”)

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Bradley Cooper (“A Star Is Born”)
Willem Dafoe (“At Eternity’s Gate”)
Lucas Hedges (“Boy Erased”)
Rami Malek (“Bohemian Rhapsody”)*
John David Washington (“BlacKkKlansman”)

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
“Crazy Rich Asians”
“The Favourite”
“Green Book”*
“Mary Poppins Returns”
“Vice”

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Emily Blunt (“Mary Poppins Returns”)
Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”)*
Elsie Fisher (“Eighth Grade”)
Charlize Theron (“Tully”)
Constance Wu (“Crazy Rich Asians”)

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Christian Bale (“Vice”)*

Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Mary Poppins Returns”)
Viggo Mortensen (“Green Book”)
Robert Redford (“The Old Man and the Gun”)
John C. Reilly (“Stan & Ollie”)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Amy Adams (“Vice”)
Claire Foy (“First Man”)
Regina King (“If Beale Street Could Talk”)*

Emma Stone (“The Favourite”)
Rachel Weisz (“The Favourite”)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Mahershala Ali (“Green Book”)*

Timothée Chalamet (“Beautiful Boy”)
Adam Driver (“BlacKkKlansman”)
Richard E. Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”)
Sam Rockwell (“Vice”)

Best Director
Bradley Cooper (“A Star Is Born”)
Alfonso Cuarón (“Roma”)*
Peter Farrelly (“Green Book”)
Spike Lee (“BlacKkKlansman”)
Adam McKay (“Vice”)

Best Screenplay
Alfonso Cuarón (“Roma”)
Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara (“The Favourite”)
Barry Jenkins (“If Beale Street Could Talk”)
Adam McKay (“Vice”)
Peter Farrelly, Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie (“Green Book”)*

Best Animated Film
“Incredibles 2”
“Isle of Dogs”
“Mirai”
“Ralph Breaks the Internet”
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”*

Best Foreign Language Film
“Capernaum”
“Girl”
“Never Look Away”
“Roma”*
“Shoplifters”

Best Original Score
Marco Beltrami (“A Quiet Place”)
Alexandre Desplat (“Isle of Dogs”)
Ludwig Göransson (“Black Panther”)
Justin Hurwitz (“First Man”)*
Marc Shaiman (“Mary Poppins Returns”)

Best Original Song
“All the Stars” (“Black Panther”)
“Girl in the Movies” (“Dumplin’”)
“Requiem For a Private War” (“A Private War”)
“Revelation” (“Boy Erased”)
“Shallow” (“A Star Is Born”)*

TELEVISION

Best Television Series – Drama
“The Americans”*

“Bodyguard”
“Homecoming”
“Killing Eve”
“Pose”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama
Caitriona Balfe (“Outlander”)
Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Sandra Oh (“Killing Eve”)*
Julia Roberts (“Homecoming”)
Keri Russell (“The Americans”)

 Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama
Jason Bateman (“Ozark”)
Stephan James (“Homecoming”)
Richard Madden (“Bodyguard”)*
Billy Porter (“Pose”)
Matthew Rhys (“The Americans”)

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy
“Barry”
“The Good Place”
“Kidding”
“The Kominsky Method”*
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
Kristen Bell (“The Good Place”)
Candice Bergen (“Murphy Brown”)
Alison Brie (“GLOW”)
Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)*
Debra Messing (“Will & Grace”)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
Sacha Baron Cohen (“Who Is America?”)
Jim Carrey (“Kidding”)
Michael Douglas (“The Kominsky Method”)*
Donald Glover (“Atlanta”)
Bill Hader (“Barry”)

Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
“The Alienist”
“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”*
“Escape at Dannemora”
“Sharp Objects”
“A Very English Scandal”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Amy Adams (“Sharp Objects”)
Patricia Arquette (“Escape at Dannemora”)*
Connie Britton (“Dirty John”)
Laura Dern (“The Tale”)
Regina King (“Seven Seconds”)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Antonio Banderas (“Genius: Picasso”)
Daniel Brühl (“The Alienist”)
Darren Criss (“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”)*
Benedict Cumberbatch (“Patrick Melrose”)
Hugh Grant (“A Very English Scandal”)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Alex Borstein (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Patricia Clarkson (“Sharp Objects”)*
Penélope Cruz (“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”)
Thandie Newton (“Westworld”)
Yvonne Strahovski (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Alan Arkin (“The Kominsky Method”)
Kieran Culkin (“Succession”)
Édgar Ramírez (“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”)
Ben Whishaw (“A Very English Scandal”)*
Henry Winkler (“Barry”)

2018 AFI Awards: 10 best movies and 10 best TV shows announced

December 4, 2018

AFI

The following is a press release from the American Film Institute:

The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today the honorees of AFI AWARDS 2018, celebrating the year’s most outstanding achievements in the art of the moving image — with 10 films and 10 television programs deemed culturally and artistically significant.

In addition to the 20 honorees, AFI also recognizes ROMA with an AFI Special Award, designated for a work of excellence outside the Institute’s criteria for American film.

AFI AWARDS honorees are selected based on works that advance the art of the moving image, enhance the rich cultural heritage of America’s art form, inspire audiences and artists alike and make a mark on American society.

AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR

BLACKKKLANSMAN
BLACK PANTHER
EIGHTH GRADE
THE FAVOURITE
FIRST REFORMED
GREEN BOOK
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
MARY POPPINS RETURNS
A QUIET PLACE
A STAR IS BORN

AFI TV PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR

THE AMERICANS
THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE: AMERICAN CRIME STORY
ATLANTA
BARRY
BETTER CALL SAUL
THE KOMINSKY METHOD
THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL
POSE
SUCCESSION
THIS IS US

AFI SPECIAL AWARD

ROMA

Marking the 19th chapter in the American Film Institute’s ongoing almanac of the moving image, the 2018 entries join a notable group of previous AFI AWARDS honorees — works of significance that contribute to the rich cultural legacy and define the state of the art form. View all past AFI AWARDS honorees here.

AFI AWARDS selections are made through a jury process where AFI Trustees, scholars, artists and critics determine the year’s most outstanding achievements and provide contextual rationales for each selection.

This year’s juries — one for film and one for television — were chaired by AFI Board of Trustees Vice Chairs Tom Pollock (former Vice Chairman of MCA, Chairman of Universal Pictures) for film and Richard Frank (former Chairman of Walt Disney Television, President of Walt Disney Studios, President of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences) for television. The juries featured acclaimed artists such as David Benioff, Joan Chen, Courtney B. Vance and Alfre Woodard; renowned authors and scholars representing prestigious universities with recognized motion picture arts and television programs; film historian Leonard Maltin; the AFI Board of Trustees; and film and television critics from media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, TV Guide, Vanity Fair, Variety and The Washington Post.

Honorees will gather on January 4, 2019, for recognition at the annual AFI AWARDS private luncheon in Los Angeles, CA — an event favored by the entertainment community for its informal intimacy and its inclusive acknowledgement of excellence. At the luncheon, AFI will present jury rationales providing artistic and cultural context for the selection of each honoree.

The AFI AWARDS luncheon will be sponsored by Audi, a supporter of AFI and its programs for the past 15 years. The AFI AWARDS luncheon is also sponsored by American Airlines, the official airline of AFI.

About the American Film Institute
The American Film Institute was established by presidential proclamation in the White House Rose Garden, and launched its national mandate on June 5, 1967 — to preserve the heritage of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers. AFI’s founding Trustees included Chairman Gregory Peck, Vice Chairman Sidney Poitier, Francis Ford Coppola, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., Jack Valenti and George Stevens, Jr., as Director.

About Audi
Audi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. AUDI AG is among the most successful luxury automotive brands, delivering about 1.878 million vehicles globally in 2017. In the U.S., Audi of America sold nearly 227,000 vehicles in 2017 and broke all-time company sales records for the eighth straight year. Visit audiusa.com or media.audiusa.com for more information regarding Audi vehicles and business topics.

2018 National Board of Review Awards: ‘Green Book’ named best film; ‘A Star Is Born’ wins 3 prizes

November 27, 2018

by Carla Hay

The National Board of Review has named the winners of its annual movie awards. The awards are voted for by the National Board of Review, which is comprised of a mixture of film industry professionals and academics. “Green Book,” based on a true story of the friendship that developed between jazz pianist Don Shirley and his driver Tony “Lip” Vallelonga while on a 1962 road trip, was named Best Film. Viggo Mortensen, who plays Vallelonga in “Green Book,” was named Best Actor.

The Bradley Cooper-directed remake of “A Star Is Born,” named by the National Board of Review as one of the Top 10 best films of 2018, picked up three NBR prizes: Best Director; Best Actress (for Lady Gaga); and Best Supporting Actor (for Sam Elliott). “If Beale Street Could Talk” won two prizes: Best Supporting Actress (for Regina King) and Best Adapted Screenplay (for “Beale Street” director Barry Jenkins).

The National Board of Review Awards will be presented at a ceremony at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City on January 8, 2019.

Some noticeable snubs include “The Favourite” and”BlacKkKlansman,” which have been getting several nominations and/or prizes at other award shows for movies. Another movie that was shut out was “Vice,” a dark comedy about former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney that is set for a U.S. release on December 25, 2018. “Vice” was screened for the first time for awards voters in mid-November 2018, but that might have been too late for enough NBR voters to see the movie. The buzz from people who have seen “Vice” is that the movie and Christian Bale (who stars as Cheney) are most likely to get nominations for Best Picture and Best Actor at other award shows that will announce their nominations in December 2018 and in subsequent months.

Here is the complete list of the 2018 National Board of Review Awards:

Best Film: “Green Book”
Best Director: Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
Best Actor: Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”
Best Actress: Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
Best Supporting Actor: Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
Best Supporting Actress: Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
Best Original Screenplay: Paul Schrader, “First Reformed”
Best Adapted Screenplay: Barry Jenkins, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
Best Animated Feature: “Incredibles 2”
Breakthrough Performance: Thomasin McKenzie, “Leave No Trace”
Best Directorial Debut: Bo Burnham, “Eighth Grade”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Cold War”
Best Documentary: “RBG”
Best Ensemble: “Crazy Rich Asians”
William K. Everson Film History Award: “The Other Side of the Wind” and “They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead”
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: “22 July”
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: “On Her Shoulders”

Top Films (in alphabetical order)
“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”
“Black Panther”
“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
“Eighth Grade”
“First Reformed”
“If Beale Street Could Talk”
“Mary Poppins Returns”
“A Quiet Place”
“Roma”
“A Star Is Born”

Top 5 Foreign Language Films (in alphabetical order)
“Burning”
“Custody”
“The Guilty”
“Happy as Lazzaro”
“Shoplifters”

Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order)
“Crime + Punishment”
“Free Solo”
“Minding the Gap”
“Three Identical Strangers”
“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”

Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order)
“The Death of Stalin”
“Lean on Pete”
“Leave No Trace”
“Mid90s”
“The Old Man and the Gun”
“The Rider”
“Searching”
“Sorry to Bother You”
“We the Animals”
“You Were Never Really Here”

2018 Hollywood Film Awards: See photos and videos

November 4, 2018

Awkwafina at the 22nd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on November 4, 2018. (Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images)

The following is a press release from Dick Clark Productions:

The 22nd Annual Hollywood Film Awards brought together Hollywood’s elite to honor the year’s most talked about, and highly anticipated, actors, actresses, films and those who help bring them to life.  The awards ceremony, celebrating its 22nd anniversary as the official launch of the awards season, was hosted by actress and comedian Awkwafina, and took place at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills.  In its 22-year history, more than 320 of the world’s biggest stars and filmmakers have been highlighted at the Hollywood Film Awards and more than 130 of the honorees have gone on to garner Oscar nominations and/or wins.

The night kicked off with Awkwafina’s biting humor, and was filled with many intimate and touching moments, as the honorees expressed their pride in their featured works.

Brad Pitt and Felix Van Groeningen at the 22nd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on November 4, 2018. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

After a sincere introduction from Brad Pitt, Felix van Groeningen voiced his utmost gratitude to receive the “Hollywood Breakthrough Director Award” and to be lucky enough to make a film like “Beautiful Boy.” Brad Bird kept his Hollywood Animation Award acceptance speech short and sweet as he stressed the need to keep making animation films for “dreaming and for dreamers.”

Damien Chazelle and Ryan Gosling at the 22nd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on November 4, 2018. (Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage)

Ryan Gosling gave an impassioned speech on the marvel and genius of Damien Chazelle and presented him with the Hollywood Director Award, which Chazelle humbly accepted.

Taraji P. Henson (L) and John David Washington at the 22nd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on November 4, 2018. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

Taraji P. Henson lauded the brilliance of John David Washington and his ability to make a period piece, that is still so relevant today, as he was honored with the Hollywood Breakout Performance Actor Award.

After accepting the Hollywood Documentary Award on behalf of Don Argott for “Believer,” Dan Reynolds performed an extremely emotional rendition of the documentary’s original song, “Skipping Stones.”

Dan Reynolds and Hans Zimmer at the 22nd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on November 4, 2018. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

Danny Huston introduced New Hollywood Actress Award recipient Yalitza Aparicio who gave a touching speech in Spanish explaining that she hopes the “win of the performance is felt by the people of Mexico.”

Yalitza Aparicio at the 22nd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on November 4, 2018. (Photo by Emma McIntrye/Getty Images)
Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway at the 22nd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on November 4, 2018. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

Anne Hathaway took the stage to present the “Hollywood Actor Award” to Hugh Jackman, applauding his many achievements including his “20 plus year juggernaut career,” his “sexiest man alive title,” and most importantly, “his widely known reputation for being the nicest guy in Hollywood.”

 

Sterling K. Brown presented the award for “Hollywood Breakout Ensemble” to the cast of “Crazy Rich Asians.”  Several of the cast members including Constance Wu, Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh, remarked at what an incomparable experience they’ve had making this film and how impactful it has been to be able to share this story with a fully Asian cast.

“Crazy Rich Asians” stars Constance Wu (at podium) and (L-R) Henry Golding, Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Chieng, Nico Santos, Michelle Yeoh, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina, Harry Shum Jr., and Ken Jeong at the 22nd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on November 4, 2018. (Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images)
Amandla Stenberg and Janelle Monáe at the 22nd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on November 4, 2018. (Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage)

Janelle Monáe was on hand to present Amandla Stenberg with the Hollywood Breakout Performance Actress Award, and shared with the room what a fierce and fearless woman Stenberg is growing up to be.  Stenberg expressed her hope that the film “The Hate U Give” encourages people to stand up and be heard.

 

Christian Slater presented Glenn Close with her Hollywood Actress Award for her unparalleled performance in the film “The Wife.”  Close received a standing ovation before thanking all of the members of her team and all the filmmakers for staying with her throughout the entire process.

Glenn Close at the 22nd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on November 4, 2018. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

Michael B. Jordan came out to recognize “Black Panther” producer Nate Moore and director Ryan Coogler with the Hollywood Film Award.  He spoke to his experience both making and seeing the movie, saying that “for everyone with African roots, it spoke to us on an intensely powerful level.”

Michael B. Jordan. Ryan Coogler and Nate Moore at the 22nd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on November 4, 2018. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley at the 22nd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on November 4, 2018. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

The final award of the evening went to Hollywood Career Achievement Award recipient Nicole Kidman, and was presented by Kidman’s co-star Shailene Woodley who was overwhelmed with gratitude that their lives crossed paths.  Kidman was welcomed with a standing ovation and thanked those in the room and in the industry for allowing her to play the women she’s played and tell their stories.  She vowed to “always give back to [her] craft!”

This year’s award show honored the following:

Hollywood Career Achievement Award

Nicole Kidman, presented by Shailene Woodley

Hollywood Film Award

“Black Panther,” presented by Michael B. Jordan

Hollywood Actress Award

Glenn Close for “The Wife,” presented by Christian Slater

Hollywood Actor Award

Hugh Jackman for “The Front Runner,” presented by Anne Hathaway

Hollywood Supporting Actor Award

Timothée Chalamet for “Beautiful Boy,” presented by Armie Hammer

Hollywood Ensemble Award

Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini for “Green Book,” presented by Octavia Spencer

(Back, L-R) Octavia Spencer with “Green Book” stars Dimiter Marinov, Sebastian Maniscalco, Joe Cortese, Nick Vallelonga, Mike Hatton, Brian Hayes Currie, (front L-R) Mahershala Ali, and Viggo Mortensen at the 22nd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on November 4, 2018. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

Hollywood Breakout Ensemble Award

Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, Sonoya Mizuno, Chris Pang, Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Chieng, Remi Hii, Nico Santos for “Crazy Rich Asians,” presented by Sterling K. Brown

Hollywood Breakout Performance Actress Award

Amandla Stenberg for “The Hate U Give,” presented by Janelle Monáe

Hollywood Breakout Performance Actor Award

John David Washington for “BlakKklansman,” presented by Taraji P. Henson

New Hollywood Actress Award

 Yalitza Aparicio for “Roma,” presented by Danny Huston

Hollywood Director Award

Damien Chazelle for “First Man,” presented by Ryan Gosling

Hollywood Screenwriter Award

Peter Farrelly, Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Currie for “Green Book,” presented by Michael Keaton

Hollywood Breakthrough Director Award

Felix van Groeningen for “Beautiful Boy,” presented by Brad Pitt

Hollywood Documentary Award

“Believer,” presented by Adam Lambert

Hollywood Animation Award

“Incredibles 2,” presented by Sophia Bush

Hollywood Cinematography Award

Matthew Libatique for “A Star Is Born”

Hollywood Film Composer Award

Justin Hurwitz for “First Man”

Hollywood Editor Award

Tom Cross for “First Man”

Hollywood Visual Effects Award

Dan Deleeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl, Dan Sudick for “Avengers: Infinity War”

Hollywood Costume Design Award

Sandy Powell for “The Favourite”

Hollywood Make-Up & Hair Styling Award

Jenny Schircore, Sarah Kelly, Hannah Edwards for “Mary Queen of Scots” 

Hollywood Production Design Award

Hannah Beachler for “Black Panther”

Hollywood Sound Award

Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn, Brandon Proctor for “A Quiet Place”

 

Honoree Portraits are available on the show’s Twitter and Instagram pages. For all information and highlights, please visit the website for the Hollywood Film Awards.

For the latest news, follow the “Hollywood Film Awards” on social and join the conversation by using the official hashtag for the show, #HollywoodAwards.

Twitter: @HollywoodAwards
Facebook: Facebook.com/HollywoodAwards
Instagram: @hollywoodawards
YouTube: youtube.com/HollywoodAwards

 

About Dick Clark Productions
Dick Clark Productions (DCP) is the world’s largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming with the “Academy of Country Music Awards,” “American Music Awards,” “Billboard Music Awards,” “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” and the “Streamy Awards.” Weekly television programming includes “So You Think You Can Dance” from 19 Entertainment and DCP. DCP also owns one of the world’s most unique and extensive entertainment archive libraries with over 60 years of award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. DCP is a division of Valence Media, a diversified media company with divisions and strategic investments in premium television, wide release film, specialty film, live events and digital media. For additional information, visit www.dickclark.com.

About The Hollywood Film Awards
The Hollywood Film Awards, founded in 1997, were created to celebrate Hollywood and launch the awards season. The recipients of the awards are selected by an Advisory Team for their body of work and/or a film(s) that is to be released during the calendar year. For additional information, visit www.hollywoodawards.com.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKHew2RL9Wc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHY3Ycog_uY

2018 Hollywood Film Awards: ‘Green Book’ stars, screenwriters among honorees

October 23, 2018

The following is a press release from Dick Clark Productions:

Dick Clark Productions announced today that Participant Media and DreamWorks Pictures’ Green Book, directed by Peter Farrelly and starring Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali and Linda Cardellini, will receive both the “Hollywood Ensemble Award” and “Hollywood Screenwriter Award” at the 22nd Annual “Hollywood Film Awards,” which will take place on Sunday, November 4 at The Beverly Hilton. The TIFF 2018 People’s Choice Award winner is written by Peter Farrelly, Nick Vallelonga and Brian Currie and is inspired by a true friendship that in 1962 transcended race, class and the Mason-Dixon line.

They join previously announced honorees Nicole Kidman, who will receive this year’s “Hollywood Career Achievement Award,” Glenn Close, who will receive the “Hollywood Actress Award,” Hugh Jackman, who will receive the “Hollywood Actor Award,” Damien Chazelle, who will receive the “Hollywood Director Award,” Timothée Chalamet and Rachel Weisz, who will receive the “Hollywood Supporting Actor Award” and “Hollywood Supporting Actress Award,” respectively, Crazy Rich Asians, which will receive the “Hollywood Breakout Ensemble Award,” Amandla Stenberg, who will receive the “Hollywood Breakout Performance Actress Award,” John David Washington, who will receive the “Hollywood Breakout Performance Actor Award,” Felix Van Groeningen, who will receive the  “Hollywood Breakthrough Director Award,” and Yalitza Aparicio, who will receive the “New Hollywood Award.”

The “Hollywood Film Awards,” honoring the most acclaimed films and actors while previewing highly anticipated films and talent for the upcoming year, also acknowledges artists in the categories of Cinematography, Visual Effects, Film Composing, Costume Design, Editing, Production Design, Sound and Makeup & Hairstyling. In its 22-year history, more than 320 of the world’s biggest stars and filmmakers have been highlighted at the “Hollywood Film Awards” and more than 130 of the honorees have gone on to garner Oscar nominations and/or wins.

ABOUT THE HONOREES
Academy Award® nominee Viggo Mortensen (Eastern PromisesThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy) and Academy Award® winner Mahershala Ali (MoonlightHidden Figures) star in Participant Media and DreamWorks Pictures’ Green Book.  In his foray into powerfully dramatic work as a feature director, Peter Farrelly helms the film inspired by a true friendship that transcended race, class and the 1962 Mason-Dixon line. When Tony Lip (Mortensen), a bouncer from an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx, is hired to drive Dr. Don Shirley (Ali), a world-class Black pianist, on a concert tour from Manhattan to the Deep South, they must rely on “The Green Book” to guide them to the few establishments that were then safe for African-Americans.  Confronted with racism, danger—as well as unexpected humanity and humor—they are forced to set aside differences to survive and thrive on the journey of a lifetime. Jim Burke (The Descendants), Charles B. Wessler (The Heartbreak Kid) produce alongside Farrelly’s fellow writers, Brian Currie and Nick Vallelonga, and Farrelly.  The drama is executive produced by Participant’s Jeff Skoll (The Help) and Jonathan King (Lincoln), along with Octavia Spencer (Fruitvale Station) and Kwame L. Parker (Kill Bill series), as well as Cinetic Media’s John Sloss (Boyhood) and Steven Farneth.  Linda Cardellini (Brokeback MountainThe Founder) co-stars.

Peter Farrelly (Produced by/Written by/Directed by) is a director, producer, executive producer, screenwriter and published novelist widely known for the star-driven comedy blockbuster movies he made with his brother Bob such as There’s Something About MaryKingpinShallow HallStuck on YouFever Pitch and the modern-day classic Dumb and Dumber. Most recently, the television series Loudermilk, which Farrelly created and executive produced, was renewed for a second season by AT&T’s Audience Network.  Loudermilk, which stars Tyler Layton-Olson and Ron Livingston in the titular role, focuses on a recovering alcoholic and substance abuse counselor whose bad attitude is said to “put the SOB in sobriety.” Following the box-office success of their first film Dumb and Dumber, the writing, producing and directing duo known collectively as the Farrelly brothers collaborated on nearly 20 films and television projects, including The RingerMe, Myself & IreneOsmosis JonesHall PassThe Three StoogesDumb and Dumber ToThe Leisure Class; and the 2007 remake of The Heartbreak Kid.

Nick Vallelonga (Produced by/Written by) is an actor and filmmaker with nearly 50 films and television projects to his credit.  The Bronx-born son of Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga, he also plays the role of Mob Boss Augie in Green Book.  Other recent credits include producing and directing the television pilot Unorganized Crime, which starred Chazz Palminteri and for which Vallelonga won Best Director at the Hollywood International Film Festival.  He executive produced the action thriller I Am Wrath, which starred John Travolta, will next be seen alongside Travolta and Morgan Freeman in George Gallo’s upcoming The Poison Rose.  He produced the action/comedy Vigilante Diaries for HBO and the feature film Chocolate City, which starred Vivica A. Fox and Michael Jai White. Vallelonga’s other film and television credits include DeadfallCoyote UglyRakeAquariusSee Dad RunThe OthersNew Jersey Shore Shark AttackSummonedERand Chicago Hope. Vallelonga went on to produce and direct several independent films including Stiletto, which starred Tom Berenger, Stana Katic, William Forsythe and Diane Venora; All In, which starred Louis Gossett Jr. and Michael Madsen; Deadfall, which starred Nicolas Cage, James Coburn, Charlie Sheen and Michael Biehn; In the Kingdom of the Blind, the Man with One Eye Is King, which starred William Petersen, Paul Winfield, Leo Rossi and Michael Biehn; and the award-winning western Yellow Rock,  which starred Michael Biehn and James Russo. Vallelonga took Best Director honors for Yellow Rock at the 2011 Red Nation Film Festival and the 2012 Western Heritage Awards, and the film was awarded a Western Heritage Award for Theatrical Motion Picture. Under his Vallelonga Productions banner, he has several projects in development, including the romantic comedies That’s Amore! and Men at Sea, the action films 10 Double Zero and Brute Force, and action/horror films Two Thieves and King of Vampires.  He is also adapting “The Court Martial of Daniel Boone,” “The Jimmy Roselli Story” and the bestselling faith based “The Reunion” into screenplays.

Boston-born Brian Currie (Produced by/Written by) became interested in screenwriting at an early age, first while attending St. John’s Prep in Massachusetts and later at Middlebury College in Vermont.  He’s had the good fortune of writing on major studio movies and independent films over the course of his career.  Currie enjoyed acting while studying at Emerson College in Boston, and his credits include Con AirMcFarland, USAStuck on YouThe Bold and the BeautifulInvincibleFever Pitch; and Armageddon.  In addition to his co-writing and producing on Green Book, Currie also plays Maryland State Trooper Hayes in a memorable sequence in the film.

Additional honorees for the 22nd Annual “Hollywood Film Awards” will be announced in the coming weeks.

For the latest news, follow the “Hollywood Film Awards” on social and join the conversation by using the official hashtag for the show, #HollywoodAwards.

Twitter: @HollywoodAwards
Facebook: Facebook.com/HollywoodAwards
Instagram: @hollywoodawards
YouTube: youtube.com/HollywoodAwards

About Dick Clark Productions
Dick Clark Productions (DCP) is the world’s largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming with the “Academy of Country Music Awards,” “American Music Awards,” “Billboard Music Awards,” “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” and the “Streamy Awards.” Weekly television programming includes “So You Think You Can Dance” from 19 Entertainment and DCP. DCP also owns one of the world’s most unique and extensive entertainment archive libraries with over 60 years of award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. DCP is a division of Valence Media, a diversified media company with divisions and strategic investments in premium television, wide release film, specialty film, live events and digital media. For additional information, visit www.dickclark.com.

About The Hollywood Film Awards
The Hollywood Film Awards, founded in 1997, were created to celebrate Hollywood and launch the awards season. The recipients of the awards are selected by an Advisory Team for their body of work and/or a film(s) that is to be released during the calendar year. For additional information, visit www.hollywoodawards.com.

2018 AFI Fest: Gala films lineup announced

October 11, 2018

AFI

The following is a press release from the American Film Institute:

The American Film Institute (AFI) announced the full lineup of Galas that will screen at AFI FEST 2018 presented by Audi.  The titles screening are: the World Premiere of BIRD BOX (DIR Susanne Bier) on Monday, November 12; the World Premiere of the episodic series THE KOMINSKY METHOD (created by Chuck Lorre) on Saturday, November 10; THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS (DIR Ethan Coen, Joel Coen) on Sunday, November 11; GREEN BOOK (DIR Peter Farrelly) on Friday, November 9; and WIDOWS (DIR Steve McQueen) on Wednesday, November 14.  All Gala screenings will take place at the TCL Chinese Theatre.

BIRD BOX – When a mysterious force decimates the world’s population, only one thing is certain: if you see it, you take your life. Facing the unknown, Malorie finds love, hope and a new beginning only for it to unravel. Now she must flee with her two children down a treacherous river to the one place left that may offer sanctuary. But to survive, they’ll have to undertake the perilous two-day journey blindfolded. Academy Award® winner Sandra Bullock leads an all-star cast in this Netflix film that includes Trevante Rhodes, with Sarah Paulson, and John Malkovich in this compelling new thriller from Academy Award® winner Susanne Bier.

THE KOMINSKY METHOD – The sun isn’t setting on the once famous Sandy Kominsky and his longtime agent Norman Newlander.  Academy Award® winners Michael Douglas (Kominsky) and Alan Arkin (Newlander) star as two friends tackling life’s inevitable curveballs as they navigate their later years in Los Angeles, a city that values youth and beauty.  Both comedic and emotional, THE KOMINSKY METHOD is an eight-episode, half-hour single camera show created by eight-time Emmy® nominee Chuck Lorre.  The Netflix show is written by Al Higgins, David Javerbaum and Lorre, who also directed the first episode.  AFI FEST will present the first three episodes of the series.

THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS – A six-part Western anthology film, a series of tales about the American frontier told through the unique and incomparable voice of Joel and Ethan Coen. Each chapter tells a distinct story about the American West.

GREEN BOOK – Academy Award® nominee Viggo Mortensen and Academy Award®winner Mahershala Ali star in Participant Media and DreamWorks Pictures’ GREEN BOOK.  In his foray into powerfully dramatic work as a feature director, Peter Farrelly helms the film inspired by a true friendship that transcended race, class and the 1962 Mason-Dixon line.  When Tony Lip (Mortensen), a bouncer from an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx, is hired to drive Dr. Don Shirley (Ali), a world-class black pianist, on a concert tour from Manhattan to the Deep South, they must rely on “The Green Book” to guide them to the few establishments that were then safe for African-Americans.  Confronted with racism, and unexpected humanity and humor, they are forced to set aside differences to survive and thrive on the journey of a lifetime.

WIDOWS – From Academy Award®-winning director Steve McQueen (12 YEARS A SLAVE) and co-writer and bestselling author Gillian Flynn (“Gone Girl”) comes a blistering, modern-day thriller set against the backdrop of crime, passion and corruption. WIDOWS is the story of four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands’ criminal activities. Set in contemporary Chicago, amid a time of turmoil, tensions build when Veronica (Oscar® winner Viola Davis), Linda (Michelle Rodriguez), Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) and Belle (Cynthia Erivo) take their fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms.

AS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED

AFI FEST takes place November 8–15, 2018, in the heart of Hollywood.  Screenings, Galas and other events will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and The Hollywood Roosevelt.  The Opening Night Gala will be the World Premiere of ON THE BASIS OF SEX (directed by AFI Conservatory alumna Mimi Leder), and the Closing Night Gala will be the World Premiere of MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS (directed by Josie Rourke). The festival will also present An Evening With Nicole Kidman, which includes a conversation with the actress and a Gala screening of her latest film, DESTROYER (DIR Karyn Kusama).  Additionally, the New Auteurs and American Independent sections have been announced and more information about these sections can be found here. The full festival lineup and schedule will be unveiled later this month.

AFI FEST will once again bring the best in global cinema to Los Angeles thanks to the visionary support of Audi — now in its 15th consecutive year as Presenting Sponsor of the festival.  Audi was born with a vision of boldly challenging the status quo and is bound by a promise to imaginatively innovate.  That same progressive spirit drives Audi’s iconic partnership with the American Film Institute.

Audi has collaborated with AFI to celebrate the history of the motion picture, honoring filmmakers and their work and educating the next generation of storytellers. Inspired by a commitment to drive progress, Audi joined forces with AFI to expand the alliance by creating the Audi Fellowship for Women, which supports one female director for her entire two-year AFI Conservatory enrollment. The next Audi Fellow will be announced in 2019.

Audi is the exclusive presenting sponsor of AFI FEST 2018.  Additional top sponsors include AT&T and American Airlines, the official airline of AFI.

Go to AFI.com now to purchase Patron Packages, which can include access to Galas and other high-demand films and events. A limited number of individual tickets will be available free of charge on AFI.com beginning October 30.

About the American Film Institute

The American Film Institute was established by presidential proclamation in the White House Rose Garden, and launched its national mandate on June 5, 1967 — to preserve the heritage of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers.  AFI’s founding Trustees included Chairman Gregory Peck, Vice Chairman Sidney Poitier, Francis Ford Coppola, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., Jack Valenti and George Stevens, Jr., as Director.

For more information about AFI, visit AFI.com or connect with AFI at twitter.com/AmericanFilm, facebook.com/AmericanFilmInstitute and youtube.com/AFI.

About AFI FEST presented by Audi

A program of the American Film Institute, AFI FEST presented by Audi is a celebration of global cinema and today’s Hollywood — a showcase for the best festival films of the year and an opportunity for master filmmakers and emerging artists to come together with audiences in the movie capital of the world. Celebrating its 32nd edition, AFI FEST is the only festival of its stature that is free to the public. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes AFI FEST as a qualifying festival for both Short Film categories for the annual Academy Awards®. This year’s edition takes place November 8–15, 2018. Additional information about AFI FEST is available at AFI.com/AFIFEST. Connect with AFI FEST at facebook.com/AFIFEST, twitter.com/AFIFEST and youtube.com/AFI.

About Audi

Audi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. AUDI AG is among the most successful luxury automotive brands, delivering about 1.878 million vehicles globally in 2017. In the U.S., Audi of America sold nearly 227,000 vehicles in 2017 and broke all-time company sales records for the eighth straight year. Visit audiusa.com or media.audiusa.com for more information regarding Audi vehicles and business topics.

2018 Toronto International Film Festival: ‘Green Book’ wins People’s Choice Award

September 16, 2018

The 2018 Toronto International Film Festival took place from September 6 to September 16 in Toronto. Here are the 2018 winners of the festival’s awards, which were announced on September 16 at an awards-ceremony brunch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4105&v=d2J-BSXETd4

THE GROLSCH PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD

Winner: Peter Farrelly’s Green Book

First runner-up: Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk
Second runner-up: Alfonso Cuarón’s ROMA

The award offers a $15,000 cash prize and custom award, sponsored by Grolsch.

THE GROLSCH PEOPLE’S CHOICE MIDNIGHT MADNESS AWARD

Winner: Vasan Bala’s The Man Who Feels No Pain (Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota)

First runner-up: David Gordon Green’s Halloween
Second runner-up: Sam Levinson’s Assassination Nation

THE GROLSCH PEOPLE’S CHOICE DOCUMENTARY AWARD

Winner: E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s Free Solo

First runner-up: Tom Donahue’s This Changes Everything
Second runner-up: John Chester’s The Biggest Little Farm

INTERNATIONAL JURY AWARDS

TORONTO PLATFORM PRIZE PRESENTED BY AIR FRANCE

Winner: Wi Ding Ho’s Cities of Last Things

Honourable Mention: Emir Baigazin’s The River

The Toronto Platform Prize offers a custom award and a $25,000 cash prize, made possible by Air France.

The Festival welcomed an international jury comprised of award-winning filmmakers Mira Nair, Béla Tarr, and Lee Chang-dong.

THE PRIZE OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF FILM CRITICS (FIPRESCI PRIZE)

Winner – Discovery Programme: Carmel Winters’ Float Like a Butterfly​

Honourable Mention: Laura Luchetti’s Twin Flower

THE PRIZE OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF FILM CRITICS (FIPRESCI PRIZE)

Winner – Special Presentations: Guy Nattiv’s Skin

Honourable Mention: Louis Garrel’s A Faithful Man

The jury was comprised of Jury President Lesley Chow (Australia), Andrés Nazarala (Chile), Astrid Jansen (Belgium), Pierre Pageau (Canada), James Slotek (Canada), and Viswanath Subrahmanyan (India).

NETPAC AWARD

Winner: Ash Mayfair’s The Third Wife

  • Jury remarks: “Ash Mayfair’s debut feature The Third Wife signalled the emergence of a young female director-writer whose aesthetic sensibilities, cinematic language, and extraordinary ability to illuminate the past for contemporary audiences augur well for the future of Vietnamese and world cinema.”

Honourable Mention: Bai Xue’s The Crossing

  • Jury remarks: “Bai Xue’s storytelling in her debut film The Crossing shattered cinematic boundaries to create an original visual language that propelled her protagonist’s emotional crossing into adulthood as she crossed the physical boundaries of Hong Kong into mainland China.”

The jury, selected from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema, comprised of Vilsoni Hereniko (Fiji), Meng Xie (China), and Gülin Üstün (Turkey).

EURIMAGES’ AUDENTIA AWARD

Winner: Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian’s Fig Tree

Honourable Mention: Camilla Strøm Henriksen’s Phoenix

The Audentia Award for Best Female Director, presented by The Festival and the Council of Europe’s Eurimages Fund, carries a €30,000 cash prize.

The jury was comprised of Anne Frank, Reinaldo Marcus Green, and Kerri Craddock.

SHORT FORM JURY AWARDS

IWC SHORT CUTS AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN SHORT FILM

Winner: Meryam Joobeur’s Brotherhood

Honourable Mention: The jury awarded a special mention to Jérémy Comte’s Fauve for its confident visual storytelling and moving performances from the child actors.

The award offers a $10,000 cash prize, made possible by IWC Schaffhausen.

IWC SHORT CUTS AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM

Winner: Sandhya Suri’s The Field

Honourable Mentions: Anette Sidor’s Fuck You, for its acutely observed study of teenage sexuality, and to Emma de Swaef and Marc James Roels’s This Magnificent Cake!, for the spectacular level of animation and the surreal humour it uses to explore its complex colonial subject matter.

The award offers a $10,000 cash prize, made possible by IWC Schaffhausen.

The jury was comprised of Claire Diao, Molly McGlynn, and Michael Pearce.

CANADIAN FILM JURY AWARDS

CITY OF TORONTO AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN FIRST FEATURE FILM

Winner: Katherine Jerkovic’s Roads in February (Les routes en février)

This award carries a cash prize of $15,000, made possible by the City of Toronto.

CANADA GOOSE® AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN FEATURE FILM

Winner: Sébastien Pilote’s The Fireflies Are Gone (La disparition des lucioles)

This award carries a cash prize of $30,000 and a custom award, sponsored by Canada Goose®.

The jury was comprised of Mathieu Denis, Ali Özgentürk, and Michelle Shephard.

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