This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2023

On a much dumber note, AMPAS releases shortlists for a number of categories: https://aframe.oscars.org/news/post/96th-oscars-shortlists

It's beginning to look a lot like Society of the Snow's mounting an All Quiet-ish run?

I’m only sorry Morbs wasn’t alive to see it

Earlier this year, writers and actors went on strike to advocate for better working conditions and protections. It led to important changes that will transform the industry for the better.

Here are some films that reflect their hard work over the last year — including some like… pic.twitter.com/TMH9LeQgsT

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 27, 2023

dude couldn't even give a nod to barbie? cmon man

He’s lost his politic touch

(Also, everyone’s dunking on the Leave the World Behind citation, but Rustin is pretty embarrassing as a movie also)

Shorts not eligible? https://boxd.it/Iq04

Oprah made a call. https://t.co/qMC8zHCAaP

— FilmBart (@FilmBart) December 28, 2023

he would love American Fiction.

https://thereveal.substack.com/p/the-best-movies-of-2023-scotts-list

This "bonus award" caught my eye, as sort of an ashes-to-ashes moment for why I believe this will be the last year I do detrius threads here:

Most Annoying Discourse: The death of discourse.
Every year, there are usually so many candidates for this category, as awards contenders send everyone to their battle stations and social media is flush with extreme positions on the movies of the day. Yet Twitter has always been the primary driver of annoying discourse and its collapse this year under Elon Musk’s leadership has scattered enough users to the winds that few issues have gained much traction. Even Bradley Cooper’s prosthetic nose in Maestro, a classic annoying-discourse topic, failed to stoke more than an extinguishable brush fire. We still have a couple of months before the Oscars to turn things around, but these eyes have not been rolling as often as they usually do.

She’s trying to find good acting in Maestro https://t.co/xrBszXLLrE

— Rocco T. Thompson (@roccotthompson) January 3, 2024

Better than Maestro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1kbSm04xdg

Leaving on its proper thread, but here's the annual "better than" list:

another maniacal Armond White review, this time "Fahrenheit 9/11"

BAFTA longlists:

BEST FILM

All of Us Strangers
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of The Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

All of Us Strangers
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
The Deepest Breath
The Great Escaper
How to Have Sex
Napoleon
The Old Oak
One Life
Poor Things
Rye Lane
Saltburn
Scrapper
Tetris
Wonka
The Zone of Interest

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

Blue Bag Life
Bobi Wine: The People's President
Earth Mama
The End We Start From
How To Have Sex
If the Streets Were on Fire
Is There Anybody Out There?
Polite Society
Rye Lane
Scrapper

FILM NOT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

20 Days In Mariupol
Anatomy of a Fall
The Boy And The Heron
The Eight Mountains
Fallen Leaves
Past Lives
Society of the Snow
The Taste of Things
The Teachers' Lounge
The Zone of Interest

DOCUMENTARY

20 Days In Mariupol
American Symphony
Beyond Utopia
The Deepest Breath
High & Low - John Galliano
Little Richard: I Am Everything
Mad About The Boy: The Noël Coward Story
The Pigeon Tunnel
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
Wham!

ANIMATED FILM

The Boy And The Heron
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
Elemental
Nimona
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Wish

DIRECTOR

Anatomy of a Fall
All of Us Strangers
American Fiction
Barbie
The Holdovers
How to Have Sex
Killers of The Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
Priscilla
Rye Lane
Saltburn
Scrapper
The Zone of Interest

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Air
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
How to Have Sex
Maestro
May December
Past Lives
Rye Lane
Saltburn

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

All of Us Strangers
American Fiction
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
Dumb Money
The Killer
Killers of The Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Wonka
The Zone of Interest

LEADING ACTRESS

Annette Bening, NYAD
Carey Mulligan, Maestro
Emma Stone, Poor Things
Fantasia Barrino, The Color Purple
Greta Lee, Past Lives
Lily Gladstone, Killers of The Flower Moon
Margot Robbie, Barbie
Mia McKenna-Bruce, How to Have Sex
Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall
Vivian Oparah, Rye Lane

LEADING ACTOR

Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers
Barry Keoghan, Saltburn
Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Colman Domingo, Rustin
George MacKay, Femme
Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction
Leonardo DiCaprio, Killers of The Flower Moon
Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Teo Yoo, Past Lives

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

America Ferrera, Barbie
Cara Jade Myers, Killers of The Flower Moon
Claire Foy, All of Us Strangers
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
Da'Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer
Jodie Foster, NYAD
Julianne Moore, May December
Rosamund Pike, Saltburn
Sandra Hüller, The Zone of Interest

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Anthony Hopkins, One Life
Ben Whishaw, Passages
Dominic Sessa, The Holdovers
Jacob Elordi, Saltburn
Jamie Bell, All of Us Strangers
Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things
Paul Mescal, All of Us Strangers
Robert De Niro, Killers of The Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling, Barbie

CASTING

All of Us Strangers
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
How to Have Sex
Killers of The Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Saltburn
Scrapper

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Barbie
The Creator
Ferrari
Killers of The Flower Moon
Maestro
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Saltburn
The Zone of Interest

COSTUME DESIGN

Asteroid City
Barbie
Ferrari
Killers of The Flower Moon
Maestro
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Saltburn
Wonka

EDITING

All of Us Strangers
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
Killers of The Flower Moon
Maestro
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Saltburn
The Zone of Interest

MAKE UP & HAIR

Barbie
Ferrari
Golda
Killers of The Flower Moon
Maestro
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Priscilla
Wonka

ORIGINAL SCORE

American Fiction
Barbie
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Killers of The Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Saltburn
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Wonka

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Asteroid City
Barbie
Ferrari
Killers of The Flower Moon
Maestro
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Wonka
The Zone of Interest

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

Barbie
The Creator
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Wonka

SOUND

Barbie
Ferrari
Killers of The Flower Moon
Maestro
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Wonka
The Zone of Interest

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION

Crab Day
Sweet Like Lemons
The Smeds and The Smoos
Visible Mending
Wild Summon
World to Roam

BRITISH SHORT FILM

Essex Girls
Festival of Slaps
Finding Alaa
Gorka
Jellyfish and Lobster
Jill, Uncredited
Mighty Penguins
The One Note Man
Such A Lovely Day
Yellow

First impressions

* Society of the Snow is not going to be another All Quiet on the Western Front
* May December is in big trouble
* Saltburn is going to grab that 10th best picture Oscar slot, thereby becoming the worst movie nominated for the award since, well, Promising Young Woman

Disappointing that “Tish” didn’t make the documentary shortlist.

May December will sub for All of Us Strangers

Nope, Saltburn over either.

Huh, I didn't realize BAFTA did longlists.

Not sure I see any tea leaves in there about Saltburn's Oscar chances, though: It shows up in a lot of categories, but not in Best Picture. And it's a British film, so I'd expect they'd give it a friendlier reception.

Agreed that All of Us Strangers is the least likely of the BAFTA Best Pic nominees to make the Oscar Best Pic list, but even if May December falters, I'd say American Fiction and The Color Purple both stand a better chance of taking that 10th slot.

Only just now realized American Fiction missed BAFTA's BP roster. That has a way better shot than either All of Us Strangers or, imo, The Zone of Interest

The National Society of Film Critics’ 58th annual voting meeting is about to begin. Follow this account for live winner announcements, category by category.

— National Society of Film Critics (@NatSocFilmCrix) January 6, 2024

Full winners:

Best Picture: “Past Lives”
Runners-up:
“The Zone of Interest”
“Oppenheimer”

Best Director: Jonathan Glazer, “The Zone of Interest”
Runners-up:
Todd Haynes, “May December”
Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer”

Best Film Not in the English Language: “Fallen Leaves”
Runners-up:
“The Zone of Interest”
“Anatomy of a Fall”

Best Nonfiction Film: “Menus-Plaisirs — Les Troisgros”
Runners-up:
“20 Days in Mariupol”
“Kokomo City”

Best Actor: Andrew Scott, “All of Us Strangers”
Runners-up:
Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”
Cillian Murphy, “Oppenheimer”

Best Actress: Sandra Hüller, “Anatomy of a Fall” and “The Zone of Interest”
Runners-up:
Emma Stone, “Poor Things”
Lily Gladstone, “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Best Supporting Actor: Charles Melton, “May December”
Runners-up: Robert Downey, Jr., “Oppenheimer”, and Ryan Gosling, “Barbie” (tie)

Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “The Holdovers”
Runners-up:
Penélope Cruz, “Ferrari”
Rachel McAdams, “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”

Best screenplay: Samy Burch, “May December”
Runners-up:
Celine Song, “Past Lives”
David Hemingson, “The Holdovers”

Best cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Runners-up:
Łukasz Żal, “The Zone of Interest”
Hoyte van Hoytema, “Oppenheimer”

Best experimental film: Jean Luc-Godard’s “Trailer of a Film That Will Never Exist: Phony Wars”

Film heritage award: Criterion Channel

Film heritage award: Facets, Kim’s Video, Scarecrow Video and Vidiots

Special citation for a film awaiting U.S. distribution: Víctor Erice’s “Close Your Eyes”

Wow. Boring!

More boring than LA this year, but less boring than NY ... Still, zero awards for Oppy and only one for Flower Moon, I'm happy.

Plus Andrew Scott's first actual win!

Nice to see Ferrari getting a bit of love.

Cruz and McAdams running up make me all the more irritated that Randolph has 100% run the table (and will continue to do so for the next two months)

Well!

It was nice to see Anatomy of a Fall win the screenplay award, but otherwise the Golden Globes went about as expected. Oppenheimer solidifies its front-runner status in picture, director, actor, and supporting actor.

I do wonder whether Barbie might have won in comedy if the new "cinematic and box office achievement" award didn't exist, allowing voters to give it a consolation prize.

Maybe, and I know reading any kind of tea leaves from the Globes is a fools' errand, but I can't help but wonder if there's a bit of a Barbie backlash brewing now that people (men) are getting to the "wait, are we really going to award ... this?!" stage

And yep, Anatomy winning screenplay was the one single jolt of genuine energy in the movie awards. Murphy winning actor, while successfully blocking Cooper from winning any of his bids, was still the dullest possible outcome

Worst Golden Globes ever. I started watching Withnail and I again.

The inevitability of Oppenheimer sweeping the Oscars has fully settled in now ... expecting anywhere from 8 to 10 wins (sigh). My last remaining wish for the season is that Maestro implodes entirely.

https://i.imgur.com/s0fsqLD.gif

SAG:

Motion Picture cast

American Fiction
Barbie
The Color Purple
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer

Male Actor in a Leading Role — Motion Picture

Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Colman Domingo, Rustin
Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction

Female Actor in a Leading Role — Motion Picture

Annette Bening, Nyad
Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Carey Mulligan, Maestro
Margot Robbie, Barbie
Emma Stone, Poor Things

Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction
Willem Dafoe, Poor Things
Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey, Jr., Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling, Barbie

Female Actor in a Supporting Role — Motion Picture

Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
Penélope Cruz, Ferrari
Jodie Foster, Nyad
Da'Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

Barbie
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
John Wick: Chapter 4
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning, Part One

Yay on Brown, boo on Domingo.

SAG always finds fun ways to set the awards cycle back a few steps, but I'll at least give them credit for blanking SALTBURN

But, of course, not TOO much credit because goddamn ...

Herein lies the rub in the entire framing of KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON as some kind of a breakthrough in terms of representation. 5 out of 7 actors nominated for the #SAGAwards Ensemble prize are white. You can't make this up. #SAG #SAGAFTRA https://t.co/1hmSQqMgc5 pic.twitter.com/fnScvc101y

— Ankit Jhunjhunwala (@fuzzyyarns) January 10, 2024

Typing Domingo and Brown's names I realized: first time two Black actors earned SAG nods for playing gay Black men.

It's probably among the first times period that any gay actors earned nods for playing gay men

So, the SAG ensemble rules are that only actors who appear on a single card in the credits are included in the ensemble. I'm guessing the women who played Mollie's sisters were grouped together on a card.

SAG really didn't like May December huh?

Or Past Lives, which I get not landing an ensemble nod, but I would've thought Greta Lee might've moved past Bening. NYAD has the feel of a classic SAG contender that doesn't move to the final round (Oscars).

Some speculation that actors aren't too happy with the portrait of acting May December presents, but also, it's a Todd Haynes movie — built for critics, not the industry.

As for single card, that's a dumb rule and it's an utter embarrassment that Brendan Fraser's performance in Killers of the Flower Moon is nominated for anything anywhere

You can generally crank the dial a few more tics toward respectable when it comes to translating the SAG slate into the Oscar one, but I do think the May December mirage ends here.

I still think Hüller has a shot, esp over Mulligan.

xp I think you're probably right, especially now that Sterling K. Brown is in the mix for supporting actor. Ruffalo didn't even make the cut for SAG.

And yeah, agreed about Hüller, who's going to appeal to the international Oscar voters. I'd predict her over Bening.

It's probably among the first times period that any gay actors earned nods for playing gay men

― Wack Snyder (Eric H.),

Out ones at any rate.

otoh I hadn't counted Cruz in at all, but now I'm sure she'll earn a nod. She doesn't do well with precursors yet lands nominations when she's in the mix.

Yep, swap Huller for Bening and I think that's your slate.

Supporting actor is between Brown, Dafoe, De Niro, Downey, Gosling, Ruffalo with I'd argue De Niro maybe in the weakest position (that category has been double-nominating movies almost every single year of late, so I see Dafoe and Ruffalo as being both in).

It's killing me that Andrew Scott is, at best, hanging on by a thread.

And, yes, Cruz is (like Dafoe) a "never count 'em out" prospect. I think given how diffuse that race is beyond Randolph and Blunt, she's got to be considered as strong as anyone else.