AWARD NEWS

Usually held the day before the Academy Awards, the 37th Film Independent Spirit Awards were given out three weeks earlier on March 6th, with the goal of increasing their impact on the Oscars race. While I think this is a good idea, the nominees this year hardly comes close to matching the Oscar nominations unlike it has in the past. Maggie Gyllenhaal's feature directorial debut, "The Lost Daughter" was the big winner, with the actress receiving the awards for Best Screenplay, Best Director and Best Feature. Gyllenhaal's adaptation of the novel by Elena Ferrante did receive Oscar recognition for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress for Olivia Colman and Best Supporting Actress for Jessie Buckley who was nominated for a Spirit award.

Most of the winners in the acting categories were sorely overlooked by the Academy; Simon Rex received Best Male Lead with his big comeback as a washed-up porn star in "Red Rocket". Taylour Paige was named Best Female Lead for her amazing turn as the title character in "Zola", a road trip black comedy involving a friendship between two strippers. Ruth Negga was awarded Best Supporting Female for her astonishing work as an African-American woman going through life as a white woman in "Passing". And Troy Kotsur, who recently won the SAG award and is nominated for an Oscar, received Best Supporting Male for "CODA" playing the patriarch of a deaf family struggling to keep their fishing business afloat.

Here is the list of winners from the 2022 Film Independent Spirit Awards (Cinema):

Best Feature: "The Lost Daughter"
Best Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal, "The Lost Daughter"
Best Screenplay: Maggie Gyllenhaal, "The Lost Daughter"
Best Female Lead: Taylour Paige, "Zola"
Best Male Lead: Simon Rex, "Red Rocket"
Best Supporting Female: Ruth Negga, "Passing"
Best Supporting Male: Troy Kotsur, "CODA"
Best Cinematography: Eduard Grau, "Passing"
Best Editing: Joi McMillon, "Zola"
Best Documentary: "Summer of Soul"
Best International Film: "Drive My Car" (Japan)
Best First Feature: "7 Days"
Best First Screenplay: Michael Sarnoski; Story by Vanessa Block and Michael Sarnoski, "Pig"
John Cassavetes Award (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000): "Shiva Baby"
Someone to Watch Award: Alex Camilleri, "Luzzu"
The Truer Than Fiction Award: Jessica Beshir, "Faya Dayi"

The 28th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were handed out on Feb. 27th and the cast of "CODA" received the Outstanding Performance in a Motion Picture, which is the equivalent of "Best Picture" for actors, and Troy Kotsur was singled out by winning Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role. Will Smith won his first SAG award for Male Actor in a Leading Role with his masterful turn in "King Richard" playing the father of Venus and Serena Williams who also served as their determined coach. Ariana DeBose was named Female Actor in a Supporting Role as Anita in the reimagining of the classic stage musical, "West Side Story" and Jessica Chastain was the unexpected winner as Female Actor in a Leading Role for her transformative performance as the scandal-plagued, televangelist, Tammy Faye Bakker in "The Eyes of Tammy Faye".

Here is the list of winners of 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards (Motion Picture):

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture: "CODA"
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role: Jessica Chastain, "The Eyes of Tammy Faye"
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role: Will Smith, "King Richard"
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Ariana DeBose, "West Side Story"
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Troy Kotsur, "CODA"

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts revealed their nominations for the 75th annual award ceremony. Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi thriller "Dune" leads the way with eleven nominations, followed by Jane Campion’s lyrical western, "The Power of the Dog" with eight while Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical drama, "Belfast" received six. Daniel Craig's final appearance as James Bond in "No Time To Die", Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1970s-set, personal drama, "Licorice Pizza" and the musical remake from Steven Spielberg of "West Side Story" each received five nominations. The winners will be announced this Sunday, March 13th at Royal Albert Hall with Rebel Wilson hosting for the first time. 

Here is a partial list of the nominees for the 2022 BAFTA Film Awards:

UPDATED: the winners are highlighted in yellow:

Best Film:

"Belfast"
"Don’t Look Up"
"Dune"
"Licorice Pizza"
"The Power of the Dog"

Outstanding British Film:

"After Love"
"Ali & Ava"
"Belfast"
"Boiling Point"
"Cyrano"
"Everybody’s Talking About Jamie"
"House of Gucci"
"Last Night in Soho"
"No Time to Die"
"Passing"

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer:

Aleem Khan (Writer/Director), "After Love"
James Cummings (co-Writer), Hester Ruoff (Producer), "Boiling Point"
Jeymes Samuel (co-Writer/director), The Harder They Fall"
Posy Dixon (Writer/Director), Liv Proctor (Producer), "Keyboard Fantasies"
Rebecca Hall (Writer/Director), "Passing"

Best Director:

Aleem Khan, "After Love"
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, "Drive My Car"
Audrey Diwan, "Happening"
Paul Thomas Anderson, "Licorice Pizza"
Jane Campion, "The Power of the Dog"
Julia Ducournau, "Titane"

Best Original Screenplay:

Aaron Sorkin, "Being The Ricardos"
Kenneth Branagh, "Belfast"
Adam Mckay, "Don't Look Up"
Zach Baylin, "King Richard"
Paul Thomas Anderson, "Licorice Pizza"

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Siân Heder, "CODA"
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, "Drive My Car"
Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve, "Dune"
Maggie Gyllenhaal, "The Lost Daughter"
Jane Campion, "The Power of the Dog"

Best Leading Actress:

Lady Gaga, "House of Gucci"
Alana Haim, "Licorice Pizza"
Emilia Jones, "Coda" 

Renate Reinsve, "The Worst Person in the World"
Joanna Scanlan, "After Love"
Tessa Thompson – “Passing"

Best Leading Actor:

Adeel Akhtar, "Ali & Ava"
Mahershala Ali, "Swan Song"
Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Power of the Dog"
Leonardo DiCaprio, "Don’t Look Up"
Stephen Graham, "Boiling Point"
Will Smith, "King Richard"

Best Supporting Actress:

Caitríona Balfe, "Belfast"
Jessie Buckley, "The Lost Daughter"
Ariana Debose, "West Side Story"
Ann Dowd, "Mass"
Aunjanue Ellis, "King Richard"
Ruth Negga, "Passing"

Best Supporting Actor:

Mike Faist, "West Side Story"
Ciarán Hinds, "Belfast"
Troy Kotsur, "CODA"
Woody Norman, "C’mon C’mon"
Jesse Plemons, "The Power of the Dog"
Kodi Smit-McPhee, "The Power of the Dog"

Best Cinematography:

Greig Fraser, "Dune"
Dan Laustsen, "Nightmare Alley"
Linus Sandgren, "No Time To Die"
Ari Wegner, "The Power of the Dog"
Bruno Delbonnel, "The Tragedy of Macbeth"

Best Editing:

Úna Ní Dhonghaíle, "Belfast"
Joe Walker, "Dune"
Andy Jurgensen, "Licorice Pizza"
Tom Cross and Elliot Graham, "No Time To Die"
Joshue L. Pearson, "Summer of Soul (or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)"

Best Film Not in the English Language:

"Drive My Car" (Japan)
"The Hand of God" (Italy)
"Parallel Mothers" (Spain)
"Petite Maman" (France)
"The Worst Person in the World" (Norway)

Best Documentary:

"Becoming Cousteau"
"Cow"
"Flee"
"The Rescue"
"Summer of Soul (or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)"

Best Animated Film:

"Encanto"
"Flee"
"Luca"
"The Mitchells Vs the Machines"

Best Production Design:

Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer, "Cyrano"
Patrice Vermette and Zsuzsanna Sipos, "Dune"
Adam Stockhausen and Rena Deangelo, "The French Dispatch"
Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau, "Nightmare Alley"
Adam Stockhausen and Rena Deangelo, "West Side Story"

Best Original Score:

Daniel Pemberton, "Being The Ricardos"
Nicholas Britell, "Don't Look Up"
Hans Zimmer, "Dune"
Alexandre Desplat, "The French Dispatch"
Jonny Greenwood, "The Power of the Dog"

Best Costume Design:

Jenny Beavan, "Cruella"
Massimo Cantini Parrini, "Cyrano"
Robert Morgan and Jacqueline West, "Dune"
Milena Canonero, "The French Dispatch"
Luis Sequeira, "Nightmare Alley"

Best Make Up & Hair:

Nadia Stacey and Naomi Donne, "Cruella"
Alessandro Bertolazzi and Siân Miller, "Cyrano"
Love Larson and Donald Mowat, "Dune"
Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh, "The Eyes of Tammy Faye"
Frederic Aspiras, Jane Carboni, Giuliano Mariana and Sarah Nicole Tanno, "House of Gucci"

Best Casting:

Carolyn Mcleod, "Boiling Point"
Francine Maisler, "Dune"
Massimo Appolloni and Annamaria Sambucco, "The Hand of God"
Rich Delia and Avy Kaufman, "King Richard"
Cindy Tolan, "West Side Story"

And finally we have this year's nominations from the 42nd Golden Raspberry Awards (or the Razzies) which celebrates the worst in cinema. Leading the list with nine nominations including Worst Picture is "Diana", the filmed version of the Broadway stage musical about the late British Princess. The other nominees for Worst Picture includes "The Woman in the Window", a thriller starring Amy Adams, and another thriller, "Karen" that features Taryn Manning with both receiving a total of five nominations; the sequel of "Space Jam" with LeBron James and "Infinite", a Mark Wahlberg action-adventure film rounds out the category. And this year the Razzies have added a special category for worst performance by the actor, Bruce Willis who appeared in eight movies last year. Now I usually agree with most of the nominations but I have to take exception to one that was given this year: Ben Affleck has been nominated for Worst Supporting Actor for his work in "The Last Duel" which I think is not only a great underrated film but the actor delivered a very fine performance. Anyway, The Razzies will be unveiled on the day before the Oscars on Saturday, March 26th.

UPDATE: the losers are highlighted in yellow and the Bruce Willis category has been eliminated due to recent disclosure of the actor's health.

Here are the nominations for the 2022 Razzie Awards:

Worst Picture:

"Diana the Musical" (The Netflix Version)
"Infinite"
"Karen"
"Space Jam: A New Legacy"
"The Woman in the Window"

Worst Director:

Christopher Ashley, "Diana the Musical"
Stephen Chbosky, "Dear Evan Hansen"
Coke Daniels, "Karen"
Renny Harlin, "The Misfits"
Joe Wright, "The Woman in the Window"

Worst Screenplay:

"Diana the Musical," screenplay by Joe DiPietro, music and lyrics by DiPietro and David Bryan
"Karen," written by "Coke" Daniels
"The Misfits," screenplay by Kurt Wimmer and Robert Henny
"Twist," written by John Wrathall and Sally Collett
"The Woman in the Window," screenplay by Tracy Letts, from the novel by A.J. Finn

Worst Actress: 

Amy Adams, "The Woman in the Window"
Jeanna de Waal, "Diana the Musical"
Megan Fox, "Midnight in the Switchgrass"
Taryn Manning, "Karen"
Ruby Rose, "Vanquish"

Worst Actor:

Scott Eastwood, "Dangerous"
Roe Hartrampf, "Diana the Musical"
LeBron James, "Space Jam: A New Legacy"
Ben Platt, "Dear Evan Hansen"
Mark Wahlberg, "Infinite"

Worst Supporting Actress:

Amy Adams, "Dear Evan Hansen"
Sophie Cookson, "Infinite"
Erin Davie, "Diana the Musical"
Judy Kaye, "Diana the Musical"
Taryn Manning, "Every Last One of Them"

Worst Supporting Actor:

Ben Affleck, "The Last Duel"
Nick Cannon, "The Misfits"
Mel Gibson, "Dangerous"
Gareth Keegan, "Diana the Musical"
Jared Leto, "House of Gucci"

Worst Screen Couple:

Any Klutzy Cast Member & Any Lamely, "Diana the Musical"
LeBron James & Any Warner Cartoon Character, "Space Jam: A New Legacy"
Jared Leto & Either His 17-Pound Latex Face, His Geeky Clothes or His Ridiculous Accent, "House of Gucci"
Ben Platt & Any Other Character Who Acts Like Platt Singing 24-7 is Normal, "Dear Evan Hansen"
Tom & Jerry, "Tom & Jerry the Movie"

Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel:

"Karen"
"Space Jam: A New Legacy"
"Tom & Jerry the Movie"
"Twist"
"The Woman in the Window"

Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 movie:

Bruce Willis, "American Siege"
Bruce Willis, "Apex"
Bruce Willis, "Cosmic Sin"
Bruce Willis, "Deadlock"
Bruce Willis, "Fortress"
Bruce Willis, "Midnight in the Switchgrass"
Bruce Willis, "Out of Death"
Bruce Willis, "Survive the Game"