THE 94TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS

I could begin with discussing how much the 94th annual Academy Awards was a vast improvement over last year's restrained, dreary affair. But let's keep it real; much like the envelope snafu of 2016, the only thing that the 2022 Oscars will be remembered for is that smack heard across the globe. To briefly recap, Chris Rock came out to present Best Documentary Feature and since he's a comedian, he told some jokes. One was aimed at Jada Pinkett Smith. And while everyone laughed including her husband, Will Smith, she did not. This lead to Smith marching on stage towards Rock. At first, I thought the two men were playing (and I think Rock did too initially since he was smiling when Smith approached him) but suddenly the visual feed was cut off and when we came back on air, Smith was back in his seat cursing out the comedian. We did not have a clear idea of what really happened until later when it was revealed that Smith had actually slapped Rock across the face. Yet a clearly shaken Rock remained professional and continued with presenting the award.

There have been various heated voices heard since with some outraged that Smith would behave this way during the show while others have praised the actor for defending his wife who had revealed she suffers from alopecia. I do not believe the reaction to this bad, tasteless joke deserved physical assault, particularly in the middle of a live televised program and could have been handled privately at a later time. It really was an unfortunate and disappointing situation from both men, wrongly taking focus away from musician-turned-filmmaker, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson winning the award for "Summer of Soul", his outstanding directorial debut about African-Americans lifting each other up during dark times through a musical concert.

The theme for this year's Oscars was "movie lovers unite" which was supposed to inspire the idea of fans coming back together as a community in theaters to watch films. This is a wonderful sentiment but there wasn't much unity behind the scenes when the Oscar telecast producers, Will Packer and Shayla Cowan made the announcement that they would cut eight categories live from the show, later announcing the winners via taped speeches throughout the evening. This plan was met by a chrous of angry Academy members who demanded that all categories be presented during the show as tradition. But it was later revealed that ABC (which is owned by Disney) forced their hand under threat of cancelling the Oscars altogether. Now I don't believe for one minute they would have seriously done this but nobody wanted to call their bluff so the producers ultimately agreed to their demands.

There was finally the return of hosts with Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall filling in that role, working well together yet only having a few actual funny moments that actually landed. Most of the jokes were awkward and we could have done without Hall's rambling, predictable skit involving COVID tests for only certain handsome men in the audience and Schumer's uncomfortable bit with nominated couple, Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons about seat fillers.

The show began promising with Beyoncé performing her nominated song, "Be Alive" from "King Richard" at the Compton tennis courts where the Williams sisters began their journey. It was a captivating spectacle with the singer and her army of backing performers all dressed in the color of a tennis ball yet it felt disconnected from the proceedings, coming across more like a music video (most likely pre-recorded) than live entertainment on the Oscars. The three other nominations for Best Song (with well-known, anti-vaxxer, Van Morrison declining to participate) were performed live in the Dolby Theater with far less major production but it was great that this was all an active part of the show again.

There were tributes to sixty years of James Bond, the fiftieth anniversary of "The Godfather" and "Cabaret" with a frail Liza Minnelli presenting Best Picture with Lady Gaga. We also had cast reunions on stage from "White Men Can't Jump", "Juno" and "Pulp Fiction". All of this was thrilling in concept but lacking in execution with the moments feeling rushed and missing a true sense of celebration. But at least we did have the common sense return of actually seeing clips from the nominated films in each category.

"CODA" became the first streaming movie to win Best Picture with Apple+ surprisingly beating Netflix for this honor after years of trying and coming close. An English-language remake of the 2014 French coming-of-age drama, "La Famille Bélier", "CODA" (which stands for Child Of Deaf Adults) tells the story of Ruby (played by Emilia Jones), the only hearing member of a deaf family and her desire to go off to college to become a singer. But as her family's main connection to the hearing world, Ruby feels she would be abandoning them as they struggle with their fishing business. Troy Kotsur, who plays Ruby's father, won Best Supporting Actor, becoming the second deaf actor to win following his co-star, Marlee Matlin in 1986 and the film's director, Siân Heder received the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. While "CODA" is certainly entertaining and moving, I found the film to be the weakest selection out of the ten Best Picture nominees, failing to fully demonstrate excellence in cinematic achievement in my humble opinion.

"The Power of the Dog" entered the night with the most nominations but only walked away with Best Director for Jane Campion, becoming only the third female filmmaker to receive this award. Jessica Chastain won her first Oscar as Best Actress for her transformative performance in "The Eyes of Tammy Faye". Ariana DeBose received Best Supporting Actress for playing Anita in the new version of the musical, "West Side Story with Rita Moreno, who won the same award for the same role sixty years ago, watching and cheering her on. But "Dune" was actually the big winner of the night, with the sci-fi adventure taking six awards including Best Editing, Cinematography, Sound and Visual Effects. Not long after the incident, Smith was announced the winner for Best Actor in "King Richard". During his lengthy speech, Smith delivered another performance, with tears streaming down his face, where he managed to apologize to the entire audience for his atrocious behavior yet noticeably neglecting one person in particular.

While the violent outburst involving Smith may have been the most obvious distraction, this year's Oscars suffered from other glaring issues: the Academy teaming up with Twitter to have users vote for their favorite film and favorite film moment with the outcome (Zack Snyder's "Army of the Dead" and "Justice League") being completely meaningless. Disney using the show as free promotion by having the actresses of their live-action adaptations of their animated classics (which included singer, Halle Bailey who will headline their upcoming "The Little Mermaid") to present an award and having the stars of "Encanto" perform a special number of "We Don't Talk About Bruno". The show seems to be drifting further away from awarding and putting a spotlight on the best in cinema, with the only focus being desperately trying to boost the ratings. All award show ratings have declined over the last few years, a reality that will need to accepted. The idea of cutting categories and eliminating the presentation of the Honorary Oscars from the telecast is going to get more people to tune-in is misguided and delusional. There are many fans of the Oscars who watch religiously every year (hello) that are still out there.

Dear Academy; please stop trying to alienate the true movie lovers in an ill-advised attempt to lure people who are never going to watch no matter what you do.

Here is the complete list of winners from the the 94th annual Academy Awards:

Best Picture: "CODA"
Best Director: Jane Campion, "The Power of the Dog"
Best Original Screenplay: Kenneth Branagh, "Belfast"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Siân Heder, "CODA"
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Jessica Chastain, "The Eyes of Tammy Faye"
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Will Smith, "King Richard"
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Ariana DeBose, "West Side Story"
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Troy Kotsur, "CODA"
Best Cinematography: Greig Fraser, "Dune"
Best Film Editing: Joe Walker, "Dune"
Best Production Design: Patrice Vermette and Zsuzsanna Sipos, "Dune"
Best International Feature: "Drive My Car (ドライブ・マイ・カー)" (Japan)
Best Documentary Feature: "Summer of Soul (Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)"
Best Documentary Short: "The Queen of Basketball"
Best Animated Feature: "Encanto"
Best Animated Short: "The Windshield Wiper"
Best Live Action Short Film: "The Long Goodbye"
Best Original Score: Hans Zimmer, "Dune"
Best Original Song: "No Time to Die" from "No Time to Die", written by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
Best Sound: Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett, "Dune"
Best Costume Design: Jenny Beavan, "Cruella"
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh, "The Eyes of Tammy Faye"
Best Visual Effects: Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer, "Dune"
Honorary Academy Awards: Samuel L. Jackson; Elaine May; Liv Ullmann
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Danny Glover

OSCAR MADNESS

The Academy Awards is finally just one day away. So while you wait in anticipation and to help fill the time until then, here is some silly trivia and fascinating information about the Oscars to distract you until the big show:

If you win an award, you are expected to give a speech. And over the many years of the Oscars, there have been many wild, moving, rambling, inspiring, and confusing speeches given. Joe Reid of Vanity Fair tries to figure out why some of these words of thanks and gratitude have become popular viewings on the official Oscars YouTube channel, listing the current top-ten speeches along with the number of views.

Please click below to read:

How Did These Becomes The Most Popular Oscar Speeches

It's seems like it's been a long time since the Oscar race has been this wildly unpredictable on who will be the actual winners, particularly in the acting categories this year. There have been times when there is one actor who appears to be a sure thing in taking home the gold prize after winning most of the other cinema awards and critics prizes. Yet on Oscar night, somebody's else name is called to pick up the coveted award. Vulture has highlighted nine of the most shocking upsets over the last twenty-five years of the Academy Awards.

Please click below to read:

The Nine Most Chaotic Oscars Acting-Category Upsets

And this year marks the 50th anniversary since the release of "The Godfather", the 1972 Best Picture winner which is considered by many to be one of the greatest works ever in cinema. On March 25, 1972, the first film in Francis Ford Coppola's trilogy of the crime drama saga about the Corleone family was released, receiving immediate acclaim from critics and audiences, making it become a highly influential, groundbreaking film. There is a rumor buzzing around that there might even be a cast reunion during this year's Oscar telecast (let's hope). The New York Times takes a look back with an interview with the eighty-two year old Coppola who discusses the extensive process it took to get "The Godfather" looking as close as possible to what it did during it's original release in time for it's golden re-release. And there is a fun, trivia quiz about the film that tests your knowledge on this classic. 

Please click below to read:

Restoring 'The Godfather' to Its Original (Still Dark) Glory

'The Godfather' Quiz Nobody Asked for

THE BATMAN (2022)

Written by Matt Reeves and Peter Craig

Directed by Matt Reeves

Where & When: TCL Chinese Theatres, Hollywood, CA. March 8, 2022 4:25 PM

In this third big-screen iteration of Batman, co-writer and director, Matt Reeves has moved this legendary comic-book crime fighter deeper into the darkness with "The Batman", set in a dystopian Gotham City so overcast by anarchy, corruption and depravity that sunny optimism is barely able to break through. Wearing the bat-cowl and cape this time is Robert Pattinson, an unexpected yet inspired choice, bringing to the role a far more somber and psychologically damaged Bruce Wayne who is motivated purely by vengeance, aggressively battling against felonious behavior with his own brand of vigilante justice.

Thankfully we do not have to once again relive the tragedy that happened to young Bruce Wayne when he witnesses his parents being murdered during an attempted robbery. But this traumatizing event remains a catalyst which not only drives the brooding, angst-filled Wayne but becomes indirectly connected to a recent crime that has been committed. On Halloween, the city's mayor, who was running for re-election, is brutally murdered in his home. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), a lieutenant officer signals Batman to the crime scene. Only operating as the costumed hero for two years, he is an unwelcome presence by the police, particularly by the police commissioner (Alex Ferns) who considers Batman no better than a common criminal. But Gordon, who is a strong ally, called Batman because a note was left behind by the killer, who calls himself, "Riddler" (played largely unseen by Paul Dano), specifically addressed to him with a riddle to solve. Not long after, the police commissioner and Gotham's district attorney (Peter Sarsgaard) are killed in similarly grisly fashion by Riddler, each time leaving a riddle for Batman, serving as clues for the reason behind his crimes.

One clue leads Batman to the Iceberg Lounge, a seedy nightclub run by Oswald Cobblepot (an unrecognizable Colin Farrell) who is referred to as "Penguin". As an associate of crime lord, Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), Cobblepot has no intention of helping Batman with anything. But he finds a waitress, Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz) working in the club who personally knows the clue he's seeking; her roommate, Annika (Hana Hrzic). But she's has been abducted and the two must work together to find Annika, in order to get answers to stop Riddler. And Selina, a skilled fighter with an affinity to cats, is more than capable of handling herself.

Despite a runtime of one hundred and seventy-six minutes, "The Batman" surprisingly doesn't feel excessive, using the time effectively to introduce us to some intriguing remixes of these familiar characters and holding our attention throughout with a harrowing storyline. On the surface, "The Batman" may appear like your standard super-hero adventure but the script by Reeves and co-writer, Peter Craig (who is the son of two-time Oscar winner, Sally Field) digs deeper, offering something introspectively complex, precarious and mature. Using the graphic novels, Frank Miller's 1987, "Batman: Year One" and "Batman: Earth One" from Geoff Johns and Gary Frank in 2012, as starting points, the story is driven with an emphasis on the detective-thriller elements, having far more in common with the dark, psychological complexity of "Se7en" and "Zodiac" than say, "Justice League" (either version). Set in a alternative vision of NYC, cinematographer, Greig Fraser artfully captures a Gotham City that merges the dangerous times back in the '70's and the more current bright-lights version with a perpetually gloomy, shadowy atmosphere, even in moments taking place during the day.

Pattinson first found fame playing the sexy vampire, Edward Cullen in "Twilight", the romantic-fantasy trilogy based on the wildly popular books by Stephenie Meyer. And after that initial taste of unbridled passion from the rabid fans of these films, it seems the British actor decided to run far away from these high-concept movies, spending his time working with indie-minded filmmakers like David Cronenberg ("Cosmopolis"), Claire Denis ("High Life"), the Safdie Brothers ("Good Time") and Robert Eggers ("The Lighthouse"). Now with over ten years passing since "Twilight", Pattinson feels comfortable enough returning to mainstream entertainment, appearing in Christopher Nolan's sci-fi, action thriller, "Tenet" before stepping into the batsuit. Unlike the character seen in the past, usually portrayed as a wealthy playboy, Pattinson's Bruce Wayne is a millennial; pessimistic, dubious and having little interest in the trappings of his family's vast empire, leaving Alfred (Andy Serkis), a military veteran now his butler, mentor and de facto parental figure, to handle the business affairs. He is so laser-focused on combating crime as Batman, subconsciously trying to avenge the murder of his parents, that it leaves him little time to enjoy any sort of real life as Wayne.

But Selina Kyle does spark something in Batman during brief yet potent occasions where they actually appear interested in a physical entanglement together that doesn't involve crime fighting. I can't recall a time in any super-hero movie where one of these characters actually plants a passionate kiss on anyone and that event in this movie felt astonishing to see. Much like "Joker" (which was elevated by the deeply committed, Oscar-winning performance by Joaquin Phoenix), "The Batman" moves the comic-book based movie in a thrilling new direction, pushing out of the family-friendly comfort zone as far as possible into something that feels more adult. And while it may not actually be groundbreaking, Matt Reeves brilliantly shakes up the routine and challenges the expected convention of this genre.

WILLIAM HURT (1950 - 2022)

William Hurt, the star of "Body Heat", "Children of a Lesser God", "Broadcast News" and "Kiss of the Spider Woman" which won him the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1985 for his performance, has passed away on March 13th. The handsome and gifted actor, who was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 2018 and had been battling privately, was seventy-one.

Born in Washington, D.C. to parents who were prominent figures in the district, Hurt first began studying theology while attending Tufts University before deciding to switch to acting, going on to Juilliard. He joined the Circle Repertory Company, appearing in several stage productions and winning an Obie Award for his debut performance in 1977 for his work in "My Life". Focusing only on the stage, with little interest in becoming famous, for the early part of his career, Hurt didn't make his first film appearance until he was thirty with a starring role in the sci-fi drama, "Altered States" in 1980. Although not much of a success at the time, the Ken Russell directed feature would go on to become a cult classic and lead to his breakout role. Lawrence Kasdan, a hot screenwriter who had co-written "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark", made his directorial debut with a neo-noir drama he had written, "Body Heat" and cast Hurt and another performer from the stage, Kathleen Turner in her film debut. Inspired by Billy Wilder's "Double Indemnity", this erotic thriller was elevated by the intense chemistry between the two performers, helping to turn these little-known stage actors into major movie stars.

Hurt would go on to appear in Kasdan's "The Big Chill" and "The Accidental Tourist" which co-starred Geena Davis and reteamed him with Turner. Héctor Babenco directed Hurt as Luis Molina, a movie-obsessed, gay man in prison who clashes with his cell-mate, a leftist revolutionary (played by Raul Julia) in "Kiss of the Spider Woman". His captivating performance in the 1985 drama first earned Hurt the Best Actor prize after it made it's world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival before later receiving the Oscar. Hurt would go on to earn three more Academy Award nominations for his work in "Children of a Lesser God", a 1986 drama based on the stage play about a romance between a hearing speech teacher and a young deaf woman (played by Marlee Matlin who won the Best Actress Oscar) working as a janitor; "Broadcast News", the 1987 newsroom romantic-comedy from James L. Brooks co-starring Holly Hunter and Albert Brooks with Hurt playing a television anchorman and "A History of Violence", David Cronenberg's action-thriller with Hurt receiving a Best Supporting Actor nomination in 2005.

Over the course of his career, Hurt moved comfortably from leading man to character actor, appearing in Nora Ephron's 1996 fantasy film, "Michael" with John Travolta; the big screen adaptation of the sci-fi television series, "Lost in Space"; the 1998 neo-noir classic, "Dark City"; the timely sci-fi drama, "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" from Steven Spielberg and joining the Marvel Universe as General Thaddeus Ross, he made appearances in "The Incredible Hulk", "Captain America: Civil War", "Avengers: Infinity War", "Avengers: Endgame" and "Black Widow" which was released last year. Hurt also appeared in several recent television series including "Humans", "Goliath" and "Condor".

William Hurt worked hard playing against expectations, uninterested in the stoic, leading man types with waspy good looks that casting directors would try and steer him towards. That's why you don't see any traditional romantic-comedies or action movies in his resume. Instead he was far more interested in digging deep into characters that were complicated, emotional and deeply flawed. As an actor, Hurt wasn't a chameleon yet he was always very expressive in all of his performances, able to reveal the humanity of his characters that made him one of the greats in cinema.

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"