2016 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners

I have not been on top of the Sundance Film Festival this year, but it looks like there are going to be a lot of great indie films released this year. Check out the winners of this years prizes, led by The Birth of A Nation which is getting rave reviews, the biggest purchase by Fox Searchlight in festival history, and a ton of 2017 Oscar buzz.

U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic
The Birth of a Nation

Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic
Swiss Army Man

Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic
Morris from America

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award
Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, As You Are

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance
Joe Seo, Spa Night

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Individual Performance
Melanie Lynskey, The Intervention and Craig Robinson, Morris from America

U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary
Weiner

Directing Award: U.S. Documentary
Life, Animated

U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing
NUTS!

U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Social Impact Filmmaking
Trapped

U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Writing
Kate Plays Christine

U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Vérité Filmmaking
The Bad Kids

Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize
Embrace of the Serpent

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic
Sand Storm

Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic
Belgica

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting
Vicky Hernandéz & Manolo Cruz, Between Sea and Land

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Screenwriting
Mi Amiga del Parque

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Unique Vision & Design
The Lure

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary
Sonita

Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary
All These Sleepless Nights

World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Best Debut Feature
When Two Worlds Collide

World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Best CinematographyThe Land of the Enlightened

World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing
We Are X

Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic, Presented by Acura
The Birth of a Nation

Audience Award: U.S. Documentary, Presented by Acura
Jim: The James Foley Story

Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic
Between Sea and Land

Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary
Sonita

Audience Award: NEXT, Presented by Adobe
First Girl I Loved

Short Film Grand Jury Prize, Presented by YouTube
Thunder Road

Short Film Jury Award: US Fiction, Presented by YouTube
The Procedure

Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction, Presented by YouTube
Maman(s)

Short Film Jury Award: Non-fiction, Presented by YouTube
Bacon & God's Wrath

Short Film Jury Award: Animation, Presented by YouTube
Edmond

Short Film Special Jury Award for Outstanding Performance
Grace Glowicki, Her Friend Adam

Short Film Special Jury Award for Best Direction
Ondřej Hudeček, Peacock

The 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards

I will update the winners live!:

Film
Best Ensemble - Spotlight
Best Actor - Leonardo DiCaprio "The Revenant"
Best Actress - Brie Larson "Room"
Best Supporting Actor - Idris Elba "Beasts of No Nation"
Best Supporting Actress - Alicia Vikander "The Danish Girl"
Best Stunt Ensemble - Mad Max: Fury Road

Television
Best Ensemble in a Drama Series - Downton Abbey
Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series - Orange is the New Black
Best Actor in a Drama Series - Kevin Spacey "House of Cards"
Best Actress in a Drama Series - Viola Davis "How to Get Away With Murder"
Best Actor in a Comedy Series - Jeffrey Tambor "Transparent"
Best Actress in a Comedy Series - Uzo Aduba "Orange is the New Black"
Best Actor in a TV Movie/Miniseries - Idris Elba "Luther"
Best Actress in a TV Movie/Miniseries - Queen Latifah "Bessie"
Best Stunt Ensemble - Game of Thrones

Lifetime Achievement Award - Carol Burnett

The 66th Annual American Cinema Editors (ACE) Eddie Awards

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (DRAMATIC)
Mad Max: Fury Road
Margaret Sixel

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (COMEDY OR MUSICAL)
The Big Short
Hank Corwin, ACE

BEST EDITED ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Inside Out
Kevin Nolting, ACE

BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
Amy
Chris King

BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (TELEVISION)
The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst “A Body in the Bay”
Zac Stuart-Pontier, Richard Hankin, ACE, Caitlyn Greene, Shelby Siegel

BEST EDITED HALF-HOUR SERIES FOR TELEVISION
Inside Amy Schumer: 12 Angry Men
Nick Paley

BEST EDITED ONE-HOUR SERIES FOR COMMERCIAL TELEVISION
Mad Men: “Person to Person”
Tom Wilson

BEST EDITED ONE-HOUR SERIES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL TELEVISION
House of Cards: “Chapter 39”
Lisa Bromwell, ACE

BEST EDITED LONGFORM (MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE) FOR TELEVISION
Bessie
Brian A. Kates, ACE

BEST EDITED NON-SCRIPTED SERIES
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown: “Bay Area”
Hunter Gross, ACE

ACE Student Editing Competition
Chris Dold

Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award Predictions

Film Predictions
Best Ensemble - The Big Short
Best Actor - Leonardo DiCaprio "The Revenant"
Best Actress - Brie Larson "Room"
Best Supporting Actor - Christian Bale "The Big Short"
Best Supporting Actress - Alicia Vikander "The Danish Girl"
Best Stunt Ensemble - Mad Max: Fury Road

Television Predictions
Best Drama Ensemble - Downton Abbey
Best Comedy Ensemble - Veep
Best Actor in a Drama Series - Jon Hamm "Mad Men"
Best Actress in a Drama Series - Viola Davis "How to Get Away With Murder"
Best Actor in a Comedy Series - Jeffrey Tambor "Transparent"
Best Actress in a Comedy Series - Julia Louis-Dreyfus "Veep"
Best Actor in a TV Movie/Miniseries - Mark Rylance "Wolf Hall"
Best Actress in a TV Movie/Miniseries - Queen Latifah "Bessie"
Best Stunt Ensemble - Game of Thrones

ACE Eddie Award Predictions

Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)
Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy)
The Big Short

Best Edited Animated Feature Film
Inside Out

Best Edited Documentary
Amy

Best Edited Television Documentary
The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst

Best Edited Half-Hour Series
Veep: Election Night

Best Edited One-Hour Series for Commercial Television
Mad Men: Person to Person

Best Edited One-Hour Series for Non-Commercial Television
Game of Thrones - The Dance of Dragons

Best Edited - Longform
Bessie

Best Edited Non-Scripted Series
Deadliest Catch - Zero Hour

2016 MPSE Golden Reel Award Nominees

BEST SOUND EDITING: SOUND EFFECTS, FOLEY, DIALOGUE AND ADR ANIMATION IN TELEVISION
Gravity Falls, Heather Olsen, MPSE
Half Shell Heroes, Jeff Shiffman, MPSE
Lego Scooby-Doo! Knight Time Terror, Devon Bowman
Marvel Avengers Assemble, Michael Draghi, MPSE
Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero, Eric Freeman
Star Wars Rebels, Matthew Wood
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jeff Shiffman, MPSE
Ultimate Spiderman, Michael Draghi, MPSE

BEST SOUND EDITING IN TELEVISION – SHORT FORM: DIALOGUE & ADR
Blindspot, Mark Relyea
Game of Thrones, Tim Kimmel
Homeland, Craig Dellinger, MPSE
Marvel's Daredevil, Lauren Stephens
The 100, Norval "Charlie" Crutcher III, MPSE
The Book of Negroes, David Rose, MPSE
The Walking Dead, Jerry Ross
Vikings - Season 3, Jane Tattersall, MPSE

BEST SOUND EDITING IN TELEVISION – SHORT FORM: SOUND EFFECTS & FOLEY
Better Call Saul, Nick Forshager
Fargo, Nick Forshager
Game of Thrones, Tim Kimmel
Marco Polo: One Hundred Eyes, Dave Patterson
The Last Ship, Michael Graham, MPSE
True Detective, Mandell Winter, MPSE
Turn: Washington's Spies, George Haddad
Vikings Season 3, Jane Tattersall, MPSE

BEST SOUND EDITING IN TELEVISION – SHORT FORM: MUSIC
American Horror Story, David Klotz
Bates Motel, Michael Ryan, MPSE
Game of Thrones, David Klotz
House of Cards, Jonathon Stevens
Jane The Virgin, Darren King
Mozart in the Jungle, Jason Newman
Mr. Robot, Ben Zales
The Slap, Robert Cotnoir, MPSE

BEST SOUND EDITING IN TELEVISION – SHORT FORM: MUSICAL
Empire, Joshua Winget
Galavant, Christopher Brooks
Nashville, Jaclyn Newman Dorn
Peg+Cat, J. Walter Hawkes
Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, Emily Kwong

BEST SOUND EDITING IN TELEVISION – LONG FORM: DIALOGUE & ADR
Bessie, Damian Volpe, MPSE
Saints and Strangers, Victor Ennis
Scream Queens, Gary Megregian, MPSE
Sons Of Liberty, Louis Bertini, MPSE
Texas Rising Night 4, John Laing
Tut, Michael J. Benavente, MPSE

BEST SOUND EDITING IN TELEVISION – LONG FORM: SOUND EFFECTS & FOLEY
Bessie, Damian Volpe, MPSE
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Mace Matiosian, MPSE
Sons Of Liberty, Ruy Garcia
Texas Rising Night 4, John Laing
True Detective, Mandel Winter, MPSE
Tut, Michael J. Benavente, MPSE

BEST SOUND EDITING IN TELEVISION – LONG FORM: MUSIC
Saints & Strangers, Del Spiva
Scream Queens, David Klotz
The Book Of Negroes, Joe Mancuso, MPSE

BEST SOUND EDITING IN TELEVISION – LONG FORM: MUSICAL
Descendants, Amber Funk
Drumline: A New Beat, Avital Korin
Teen Beach 2, Amber Funk

BEST SOUND EDITING: SHORT FORM DOCUMENTARY IN TELEVISION
Brewmore Baltimore, Matt Davies, MPSE
Chef's Table, William McGuigan
Deadliest Catch, Bob Bronow, MPSE
India's Daughter, Resul Pookutty, MPSE
Undrafted, Eric Lalicata

BEST SOUND EDITING: LONG FORM DOCUMENTARY IN TELEVISION
30 for 30: Sole Man, Eric Lalicata
Keith Richards: Under The Influence, Brian Chumney
The Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs, Jason Schmidt

BEST SOUND EDITING: DIRECT TO VIDEO ANIMATION
Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League - Attack of the Legion of Doom!, Devon Bowman
Magic Snowflake, Paulette Victor Lifton, MPSE
Marvel Super Hero Adventures: Frost Fight, Michael Draghi, MPSE
Santa's Apprentice, Paulette Victor Lifton, MPSE
Tinker Bell and the Legend of the Neverbeast, Todd Toon, MPSE
Trick Or Treaters, Paulette Victor Lifton, MPSE

BEST SOUND EDITING: DIRECT TO VIDEO LIVE ACTION
7 Minutes, Trip Brock, MPSE
All the Wilderness, Trip Brock, MPSE
Last Shift, Michael Orlowski, MPSE
Listening, David Barber, MPSE
Lost River, Lon Bender, MPSE
War Pigs, Carlos Sanches
We Are Still Here, Eric Lalicata

BEST SOUND EDITING: COMPUTER EPISODIC ENTERTAINMENT
All Hail King Julien, Devon Bowman
Joy Ride - Prequel, Charles Deenan, MPSE
The Mr. Peabody And Sherman Show, Devon Bowman
Tom Clancy's The Division: Agent Origins, Kevin Senzaki
What Lives Inside, Rob Marshall

BEST SOUND EDITING: COMPUTER INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT
Batman: Arkham Knight, Andrew Riley
Call of Duty Advanced Warfare: Exo Zombies, Adam Boyd, MPSE
Halo 5: Guardians, Bryan Watkins
Star Wars - Battlefront, Charles Deenan, MPSE
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void - "Unity" Cinematic, Paul Menichini, MPSE

BEST SOUND EDITING: SPECIAL VENUE
Alien Attack, Brian Elmer
Journey To Space, Brian Elmer
MacGillivray Freeman's Humpback Whales, Andrew DeCristofaro, MPSE
Robots 3D, Brian Elmer
The Great Chicago Adventure, Thomas Haigh, MPSE

BEST SOUND EDITING: DIALOGUE & ADR IN A FEATURE FILM 
Bridge Of Spies, Richard Hymns
Mad Max -Fury Road, Mark Mangini, MPSE and Scott Hecker, MPSE
Room, Niall Brady
Sicario, Alan Murray
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Matthew Wood
Straight Outta Compton, Mark Stoeckinger and Greg Hedgepath, MPSE
The Martian, Oliver Tarney, MPSE
The Revenant, Lon Bender, MPSE, Randy Thom, and Martin Hernandez, MPSE

BEST SOUND EDITING: SOUND EFFECTS & FOLEY IN A FEATURE FILM
Ant-Man, Shannon Mills and Daniel Laurie
Jurassic World, Al Nelson and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, MPSE
Mad Max - Fury Road, Mark Mangini, MPSE and Scott Hecker, MPSE
Sicario, Alan Murray
Southpaw, Mandell Winter, MPSE
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Matthew Wood
The Martian, Oliver Tarney, MPSE
The Revenant, Lon Bender, MPSE, Randy Thom, and Martin Hernandez, MPSE

BEST SOUND EDITING: SOUND EFFECTS, FOLEY, DIALOGUE & ADR IN AN ANIMATION FEATURE FILM
Anomalisa, Aaron Glacock and Christopher S. Aud, MPSE
Hotel Transylvania 2, Geoffrey Rubay
Inside Out, Shannon Mills and Ren Klyce
Minions, Dennis Leonard
Shaun The Sheep Movie, Anthony Bayman and Adrian Rhodes
The Good Dinosaur, Shannon Mills
The Peanuts Movie, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, MPSE and Randy Thom

BEST SOUND EDITING: MUSIC SCORE IN A FEATURE FILM
Creed, Ronald Webb
Jupiter Ascending, Paul Apelgren
Jurassic World, Paul Apelgren
Mad Max: Fury Road, Bob Badami
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, John Finklea
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Paul Apelgren
The Martian, Tony Lewis
The Revenant, Martin Hernandez, MPSE

BEST SOUND EDITING: MUSIC IN A MUSICAL FEATURE FILM
Love & Mercy, Nicholas Renbeck
Pitch Perfect 2, Amanda Goodpaster
Straight Outta Compton, Jason Ruder

BEST SOUND EDITING: SOUND EFFECTS, FOLEY, DIALOGUE & ADR IN A FOREIGN FEATURE FILM
Dias De Gracia, Frederick Le Louet and Enrique Greiner
Northmen - A Viking Saga, Markus Glunz and Peter Staubli
Son Of Saul, Tamas Zanyi
Unfreedom, Resul Pookutty, MPSE and Amrit Pritam Dutta

BEST SOUND EDITING: DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM
A Faster Horse, Mark Stoeckinger and Luke Gibleon
Amy, Andy Shelley and Stephen Griffiths
Best Of Enemies, Pete Horner
Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck, Cameron Frankley
Racing Extinction, Tim Nielsen and Christopher Barnett
The Wrecking Crew, Bob Bronow, MPSE
What Happened to Miss Simone, Oleg Kulchytskyi
Winter On Fire: Ukraine's Fight For Freedom

VERNA FIELDS AWARD IN SOUND EDITING FOR STUDENT FILMMAKERS
Chhaya, Rob Szeliga
Edmond, Rob Turner
Fulfilament, Matis Rei
Hum, Jackie Zhou
N0-A, Kai Paquin
Prism, Gerry Vasquez

Producers Guild of America (PGA) Award Winners

Well well well, The Big Short came up big. In terms of the nomination process it was the only film that hit every single mark it was supposed to, and now it is the front runner for Best Picture. While I was predicting Spotlight, this doesn't surprise me at all. But this is just one step. If SAG and/or DGA go a different way, this makes this an interesting race. For now, we have a front runner.

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
The Big Short

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures
Inside Out

Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures
Amy

The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television
Fargo

The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama
Game of Thrones

The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy
Transparent

Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television
The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst

Outstanding Producer of Competition Television
The Voice

Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Outstanding Sports Program
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel

Outstanding Digital Series
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

Outstanding Children's Program
Sesame Street

The 4th Annual Awards Psychic Music Awards Winners

Album of the Year
Winner - Kendrick Lamar "To Pimp a Butterfly"
Runners Up -  Sleater-Kinney "No Cities to Love", D'Angelo and the Vanguard "Black Messiah", Alabama Shakes "Sound and Color", and Florence + The Machine "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful"
Commentary - A great year for music, and honestly it was a huge decision to pick between my top five. Sleater-Kinney was brilliant, D'Angelo had the unexpected comeback, Florence rocked by iPod for about two moths, and Alabama Shakes broke new ground. All are worthy works, and all will be duly rewarded. But at the end, I kept coming back to Kendrick Lamar. His last album made him an artist to watch, but To Pimp a Butterfly made him a star. It is a bold, best-selling album that put Lamar squarely in the center of popular rap music. Alright and i we're hits that played almost everywhere. And yet, all of that surprises me, because this is not a commercial album. It is a brilliant, sometimes harsh, and important album, probably the most important of the year. It talks about our society, our continued problem with racism, and the continued struggle of black America. And it does all of this while still being an incredibly listenable album that you can play endlessly. In a society that celebrates mediocrity in music a lot of the time, it is nice to know that true artists like Kendrick Lamar can rise above all of the noise and become a powerful and essential voice in American culture.

Single of the Year
Winner - Florence + The Machine "Ship to Wreck"
Runners Up - Alabama Shakes "Don't Wanna Fight", Taylor Swift "Blank Space", Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars "Uptown Funk"
Commentary - Alabama Shakes shook things up, Taylor Swift went loco, and Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars reinvented old school. But the one song that I kept playing over and over again was Ship to Wreck. Florence + The Machine had a magnificent year with their best album yet, and Ship to Wreck was exactly what their fans love about them. It was a brilliant written song with an interesting message, it was endlessly playable, and for me, was easily the best song of 2015.

Best New Artist
Winner - George Ezra
Runners Up - Sam Hunt and Hozier
Commentary - So I was watching SNL, and George Ezra stepped on the stage. I was very skeptical. I had honestly never heard of him, and he looked like another boy band pop star. And then he started singing. I think he is an awesome new star for pop music. His music is folksy, colloquial sounding, and yet it is also easy to listen to, brilliantly catchy, and a great new voice among what can be a generic and stale genre. I hope he has a bright future in music.

Best Pop Album
Winner - Florence + The Machine "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful"
Runner Up - Taylor Swift "1989"
Commentary - Taylor Swift's 1989 was finally the album that she deserved, but despite that, and since Adele's album was not eligible, this was a pretty easy choice for me. Florence + The Machine have been pushing pop music and radio-friendly pop music forward at every turn. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful indeed. Their latest album was my personal favorite by a mile. It was bold, impeccably crafted, and proved that they are one of the best acts in modern music.

Best Rap Album
Winner - Kendrick Lamar "To Pimp A Butterfly"
Runner Up - Dr. Dre "Compton"
Commentary - See Album of the Year

Best Rock/Alternative Album
Winners - (TIE) Sleater-Kinney "No Cities to Love" and Alabama Shakes "Sound and Color"
Runner Up - Wilco "Star Wars"
Commentary - Alabama Shakes reinvented their exuberant style and matured in their sound with ease. But I could not walk away from these awards without rewarding the long-awaited return of Sleater-Kinney. With No Cities to Love, they prove that time doesn't stop progress, and that they are still one of the best rock acts in modern music. Both of these groups are not just great rock bands, they are bands that continue to explore their own styles, continue to challenge their listeners, and do both to such a high degree.

Best R&B Album
Winner - D'Angelo and the Vanguard "Black Messiah"
Runner Up - The Weeknd "Beauty Behind the Madness"
Commentary - The Weeknd, now a Grammy and Oscar nominee, is getting a lot of attention this year, and rightfully so. He is an incredible new talent. But after years of waiting, D'Angelo finally returned to music with the triumphant and brilliant Black Messiah. It is beautifully constructed, impeccably soulful, and proves that even after a 15-year absence, D'Angelo is still one of the best acts in R&B, heck, all music.

Best Country Album
Winner  - Chris Stapleton "Traveller"
Runner Up - Sam Hunt "Montevallo"
Commentary - I'm not the biggest country fan in the world, but even I recognized the achievement that was Traveller. A veteran in country music for a long time, Chris Stapleton finally gets his debut, and it is a brilliant mix of pain, southern charm, and perfectly represents what makes people love country music so much. You don't have to be a huge fan of the genre to appreciate Stapleton's mega-talent and stunning debut.

Best Pop Performance
Winner - Florence + The Machine "Ship to Wreck"
Runners Up - George Ezra "Budapest", Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars "Uptown Funk", and Taylor Swift "Blank Space"
Commentary - See Single of the Year

Best Rock/Alternative Performance
Winner - Alabama Shakes "Don't Wanna Fight"
Runners Up - Sleater-Kinney "Bury Our Friends" and Foo Fighters "Something From Nothing"
Commentary - Their first album was a wonderful blend of rock, country, and southern soul. Sound  & Color still has plenty of that but with an added edge. There is no better representation of that than their leading single Don't Wanna Fight. With Brittany Howard's unique vocals, and that beautiful mix of soul and edge, Don't Wanna Fight was one of the year's best singles and proved why Alabama Shakes continues to push the definition of rock music forward.

Best R&B Performance
Winner - D'Angelo and the Vanguard "Really Love"
Runner Up - Leon Bridges "Coming Home"
Commentary - One of my favorite Grammy nominations this year was the Record of the Year nomination for D'Angelo's Really Love. It was a surprise to say the least, especially some of the more radio-friendly hits that were passed over in favor of it. Its groove, and its soul is distinct and wonderful to listen to.

Best Rap Performance
Winner - Common and John Legend "Glory"
Runners Up -  (TIE) Kendrick Lamar "Alright" and Nicki Minaj "The Night is Still Young"
Commentary - There is a reason that after their performance at the Oscars (and their win), that the crowd went nuts with a massive standing ovation. That is because their song Glory, from my favorite film of last year, Selma, was an important, rousing, and uplifting song that I think perfectly captures the spirit of Dr. King, and has so much resonance even today.

Best Country Performance
Winner - Little Big Town "Girl Crush"
Runners Up - Sam Hunt "Take Your Time" and Chris Stapleton "Nobody to Blame"
Commentary - I may not be the biggest country fan in the world, but even I couldn't resist Little Big Town's Girl Crush. A Song of the Year nomination was a great reward, and a great inclusion for that category.

Producers Guild of America (PGA) Award Predictions

This will be a big one, and it will show us who is going to be in the lead going into Oscar night next month. My money is still on Spotlight. Despite a few missed along the way, it has come out strong right when it needed to, and unlike say The Revenant or Mad Max, it also has that SAG Ensemble, which I think means something. Who could upset? Well I think this is the time where The Revenant rises to the occasion. If it doesn't win here, I don't think it can pull off Best Picture. I think that if anything can upset here, it is The Big Short.

Best Picture
Spotlight

Best Animated Feature
Inside Out

Best Documentary
Amy

Best Long-Form Television
Fargo

Best Episodic Drama
Game of Thrones

Best Episode Comedy
Veep

Best Nonfiction Television
The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst

Best Competition Television
The Voice

Best Live Entertainment and Talk Television
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Best Children's Program
Toy Story That Time Forgot

Best Sports Program
Real Sports with Bryan Gumbel

Best Digital Series
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

First Oscar Winner Predictions in Sidebar

The first winner predictions are now posted in the sidebar, and will be updated as the season goes along. This weekend is the PGA, next weekend is SAG, the Eddies, and ADG, so more pieces of the puzzle will fall into place!

Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association (GALECA) Award Winners

Film of the Year
Carol

Director of the Year
Todd Haynes “Carol”

Performance of the Year - Actor
Leonardo Dicaprio “The Revenant”

Performance of the Year - Actress
Cate Blanchett “Carol”

LGBTQ Film of the Year
Carol

Foreign Language Film of the Year
Son of Saul

Screenplay of the Year
Phyllis Nagy "Carol"

Documentary of the Year
Amy

Visually Striking Film of the Year
Mad Max: Fury Road

Unsung Film of the Year
Tangerine

Campy Flick of the Year
Magic Mike XXL

TV Drama of the Year
 (TIE) Fargo and Orange is the New Black

TV Comedy of the Year
Transparent

TV Performance of the Year - Actor
Jeffrey Tambor "Transparent”

TV Performance of the Year - Actress
Taraji P. Henson “Empire”

LGBTQ Show of the Year
Transparent

Unsung TV Show of the Year
Looking

TV Current Affairs Show of the Year
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver

Campy TV Show of the Year
Empire

TV Musical Performance of the Year
Aretha Franklin "(You Make Me Feel) A Natural Woman" from "The 38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors"

The ‘We’re Wilde About You’ Rising Star Award
Alicia Vikander

Wilde Wit of the Year
Amy Schumer

Wilde Artist of the Year
Todd Haynes

Timeless Award
Jane Fonda

London Film Critics Circle Award Winners

Film of the Year
Mad Max: Fury Road

British/Irish Film of the Year
45 Years

Foreign Language Film of the Year
The Look of Silence

Documentary of the Year
Amy

Actor of the Year
Tom Courtenay "45 Years"

Actress of the Year
Charlotte Rampling "45 Years"

Supporting Actor of the Year
Mark Rylance "Bridge of Spies"

Supporting Actress of the Year
Kate Winslet "Steve Jobs "

Director of the Year
George Miller "Mad Max: Fury Road"

Screenwriter of the Year
Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy "Spotlight"

British/Irish Actor of the Year
Tom Hardy "Legend", "London Road", "Mad Max: Fury Road", "The Revenant"

British/Irish Actress of the Year
Saoirse Ronan "Brooklyn" and "Lost River"

Young British/Irish Performer of the Year
Maisie Williams "The Falling"

Philip French Award for Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker
John MacLean "Slow West"

British/Irish Short Film of the Year
Stutterer

Technical Achievement Award
Ed Lachman "Carol"

Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film
Kenneth Branagh

The 21st Annual Critics Choice Awards

Film
Best Picture - Spotlight
Best Director - George Miller "Mad Max: Fury Road"
Best Actor - Leonardo DiCaprio "The Revenant"
Best Actress - Brie Larson "Room"
Best Supporting Actor - Sylvester Stallone "Creed"
Best Supporting Actress - Alicia Vikander "The Danish Girl"
Best Ensemble - Spotlight
Best Young Actor/Actress - Jacob Tremblay "Room"
Best Animated Feature - Inside Out
Best Foreign Language Film - Son of Saul
Best Documentary Feature - Amy
Best Original Screenplay - Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy "Spotlight"
Best Adapted Screenplay - Charles Randolph and Adam McKay "The Big Short"
Best Comedy Movie - The Big Short
Best Actor in a Comedy Movie - Christian Bale "The Big Short"
Best Actress in a Comedy Movie - Amy Schumer "Trainwreck"
Best Action Movie - Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Actor in a Action Movie - Tom Hardy "Mad Max: Fury Road"
Best Actress in an Action Movie - Charlize Theron "Mad Max: Fury Road"
Best Science Fiction/Horror Movie - Ex Machina
Best Cinematography - Emmanuel Lubezki "The Revenant"
Best Costume Design - Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Editing - Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Hair and Makeup - Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Score - Ennio Morricone "The Hateful Eight"
Best Song - "See You Again" from Furious 7
Best Production Design - Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Visual Effects - Mad Max: Fury Road

Television
Best Drama Series - Mr. Robot
Best Comedy Series - Master of None
Best Actor in a Drama Series - Rami Malek "Mr. Robot"
Best Actress in a Drama Series - Carrie Coon "The Leftovers"
Best Actor in a Comedy Series - Jeffrey Tambor "Transparent"
Best Actress in a Comedy Series - Rachel Bloom "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series - Christian Slater "Mr. Robot"
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series - Constance Zimmer "UnReal"
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Andre Braugher "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - Mayim Bialik "The Big Bang Theory"
Best TV Movie/Limited Series - Fargo
Best Actor in a TV Movie/Limited Series - Idris Elba "Luther"
Best Actress in a TV Movie/Limited Series - Kirsten Dunst "Fargo"
Best Supporting Actor in TV Movie/Limited Series - Jesse Plemons "Fargo"
Best Supporting Actress in a TV Movie/Limited Series - Jean Smart "Fargo"
Best Guest Actor/Actress in a Comedy Series - Timothy Olyphant "The Grinder"
Best Guest Actor/Actress in a Drama Series - Margo Martindale "The Good Wife"
Best Talk Show - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Best Reality Show Competition - The Voice
Best Structured Reality Show - Shark Tank
Best Unstructured Reality Show - Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
Best Reality Host - James Lipton "Inside the Actors Studio"
Best Animation Series - BoJack Horseman

Critics Choice MVP Award - Amy Schumer
Critics Choice Genius Award - Industrial Light & Magic
Most Bingeworthy - Outlander

The 6th Annual Awards Psychic Awards: Winners

Best Picture - Drama
Winner - Steve Jobs
Runners Up - Spotlight, Love & Mercy, Sicario, and Carol
Commentary - It saddens me that Steve Jobs not an Oscar nominee for Best Picture. It saddens me because it is most likely its box office failures (caused mostly by a too aggressive release strategy), that stopped one of the years best films from reaching the awards heights that it deserved. Staged in three parts, all with different lenses to show the growth, Steve Jobs is a brilliantly constructed film, featuring another rapid-fire script from Aaron Sorkin, brilliant set piece direction from Danny Boyle, and an absolutely jaw-dropping performance from Michael Fassbender, backed by a great cast including Kate Winslet, Jeff Daniels, and Seth Rogen. A magnificent film to watch, Steve Jobs has fallen into the trap of its own distribution failures, and I kept hoping that Oscar voters would ignore those issues, and reward this incredible film. It is their loss.

Best Picture - Comedy/Musical
Winner - Spy
Runners Up - Trainwreck and Tangerine
Commentary - Trainwreck proved that Amy Schumer is a star, and Tangerine deserves so much credit for tackling timely subjects, and for its production. But at the end of the day, the funniest movie of the year is Spy. It is ridiculous yes, it is outrageous, yes. It is also a non-stop, always funny action thriller with great performances, great comedy set pieces, and an absolutely stunning performance by Melissa McCarthy (see Best Actress - Comedy). The term "comedy" is so confused right now. You have The Martian (a film I loved by the way) winning for Best Comedy, and half of the so-called "comedies" are either really dramas, or are complete crap. That is why it is so nice to see a big, raunchy, fun comedy that is not only actually funny, but also executed at such a high level.

Best Picture Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror
Winner - Star Wars - The Force Awakens
Runners Up - Mad Max: Fury Road and The Martian
Commentary - I purposely avoided negative Star Wars articles and comments for the first week, then slowly started to see what the trolls and haters were saying. I was surprised that even in today's culture, there weren't as many negative thoughts. What I have tried even harder to avoid, less successfully, are the nitpicks. Yes, the details matter. Of course the details matter. And yes, some of those nitpickers have made valid points about the plot and the characters. And yes, I'm sure that there are more intricately woven, better written, more fully developed films out there. But I honestly don't care. I know that sounds flippant, and I sound like one of those people that goes crazy anytime some simply counters their opinion. I'm really not, I'm just to the point where I don't care anymore. They have valid points, and if they don't like Star Wars, then they don't like Star Wars, it is a fair opinion. But in the end the movies we remember most are the ones that make us feel. The ones that make us laugh the most, or cry the most; the ones that most remind us of our childhood, or our college years, or our families and friends. And no film excited me, thrilled me, entertained me, or made me feel more joy that Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I loved it, I loved every minute of it. It was a brilliant combination of the old Star Wars that we loved, with new characters who are instantly memorable and are breathing new life into this saga. It was exuberant joy. That is a feeling that simply cannot be replaced.

Best Picture - Animated
Winner - Inside Out
Runner Up - Anomalisa
Commentary - Star Wars was my second favorite film of the year. The best film of 2015 was easily Inside Out. Period. When you consider The Martian, Mad Max, Star Wars, and Inside Out, it was a banner year for studio films. It is so nice that even in this day and age that big studios can produce thoughtful, well-made films that are also big, bold, and daring. And none were more daring than Inside Out. The concept was the most original seen on film in years, it was brilliantly funny, while also being incredibly emotional, and its voice cast was simply perfect, particularly the duo of Amy Poehler and the fantastic Phyllis Smith. Inside Out may be the best film Pixar has ever put out, and when you consider some of their films that is saying a lot. A pure, original, and fantastic triumph.

Best Picture - Documentary
Winner - Amy
Runners Up - Going Clear: Scientology and The Prison of Belief and Heart of a Dog
Commentary - Going Clear was the best horror film of the year, and Heart of a Dog is a stunner. But no documentary had the same impact as Amy. It is the most fascinating and most heartbreaking film of the year. To see such a talented and unique person, with such a powerful musical style, fall so hard, hurt so much; to see it get to the point that it ends her life, is just something both hard to watch, and but also important to watch. The price of fame is something that has been covered many times to varying degrees of success. The crew here clearly respected Amy Winehouse. They created a straightforward film that simply tells a story, and in doing so they let us see the real Amy, her real talent, and her real pain. The results were undeniable.

Best Actor - Drama
Winner - Michael Fassbender "Steve Jobs"
Runners Up - Leonardo DiCaprio "The Revenant", Tom Courtenay "45 Years, Michael B. Jordan "Creed"
Commentary - Did I mention that Michael Fassbender was jaw-dropping in Steve Jobs? Unlike the Oscars, I have rewarded Leonardo DiCaprio, and both Tom Courtenay and Michael B. Jordan deserve mention for their incredible work this year. But this was one of the easiest categories to decide in a year of great performances. Capturing the anger, the ego, and the deeply complicated nature of the enigmatic and controversial Steve Jobs, Michael Fassbender delivers the performance of his career. Luckily, even though the film missed the top prize, Fassbender got that Best Actor nomination, and it is well deserved.

Best Actress - Drama
Winner - Charlotte Rampling "45 Years"
Runners Up - Daisy Ridley "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and Charlize Theron "Mad Max: Fury Road"
Commentary - Daisy Ridley was such a bright spot to reignite a franchise, and Charlize Theron was simply a bad ass. But the performance that got to me was Charlotte Rampling  in 45 Years. Rampling has been a fantastic actress for years, and that Oscar nomination was one the highlights of the season so far, and it is so deserving. She is a legend if there ever was one, and this might be her best yet. And that is saying something.

Best Actor - Comedy/Musical
Winner - Matt Damon "The Martian"
Runner Up - Thomas Mann "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"
Commentary - Okay so now I'm a hypocrite because The Martian just won a comedy category. You know what, its my party and I'll cry if I want to. Honestly, there were a lot of solid performances, and The Martian, while not a comedy, was a fun and engaging film, and Matt Damon is the reason why. His Oscar nomination was one of my favorites, because he simply deserves it. He carries one of the year's best films on his back, and he proves why is such a sought after star. He was engaging, emotional, and yes, even funny.

Best Actress - Comedy/Musical
Winner - Melissa McCarthy "Spy"
Runners Up - Kitana Kiki Rodriguez "Tangerine" and Amy Schumer "Trainwreck"
Commentary - This one was so easy for me. Melissa McCarthy has been one of our brightest stars since she was Sookie on Gilmore Girls. I am so glad that Mike & Molly and Bridesmaids introduced her to the rest of the world. But since then, we have been waiting on her to find her perfect movie (St. Vincent was great, but it was really all about Bill Murray and Heat was about the dynamic duo). Finally, McCarthy gets her own lead role, where she gets to shine all by herself. Don't get me wrong, her ensemble cast was hilarious, particularly the fantastic Rose Byrne. But this film was on McCarthy's shoulders, and she proved she could be raunchy, ridiculous, but also emotional and impeccably funny. Most importantly, she proved to all of her critics that she truly is one of our best and brightest stars.

Best Director

Winner - George Miller "Mad Max: Fury Road"
Runners Up  - Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen "Inside Out"J.J. Abrams "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens", and Ridley Scott "The Martian"

Commentary - Pete Docter almost won here, and probably should have, and Abrams and Scott were masterful. But there is a reason that George Miller is winning so many of these directors awards. It takes guts to not only reinvent a classic, but to reinvent your own classic and to do it well. To go back and rethink how a film should be done and to do it at such a high level (not George Lucas and his special edition DVDs) is the sign of a true master. Mad Max is a great film, and from the first frantic second to the last, it is because of George Miller's vision. It is a bold, dirty, brilliant film that doesn't really care about conventions, about its past, and instead blazes a new trail for the future. The results were epic.

Best Supporting Actor
Winner - Harrison Ford "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"
Runners Up - Paul Dano "Love & Mercy", Slyvester Stallone "Creed", Walton Goggins "The Hateful Eight"
Commentary - Sly Stallone is getting all of the "reinvention" credit, and he deserves it. But from the first frame that Harrison Ford's beloved Han Solo appears on screen in The Force Awakens, till his last (no spoilers I promise), his presence is simply illuminating. He brings back the swagger and the humor, but also provides two of the films most emotionally important moments. Harrison Ford has been a star for so long, and has never really gotten enough recognition. He is clearly having the most fun he has had in years, and as a huge fan, I can say we all enjoyed the ride along with him.

Best Supporting Actress
Winner - Rachel McAdams "Spotlight"
Runners Up - Elizabeth Banks "Love & Mercy", Alicia Vikander "Ex Machina", Mya Taylor "Tangerine"
Commentary - This is an interesting category for me, and has been for everyone else apparently. But one of my favorite Oscar nods was Rachel McAdams. She has been getting a lot of flack because her performance is understated, and because many believe that the only reason she was getting awards attention was because she was the only major female cast member among a bunch of men. Maybe that is why SAG and Academy voters decided to vote for her, but its not why I am. Yes, it, like all of the performances in Spotlight is understated. But sometimes understated can have the most emotional impact. There are some of her scenes in Spotlight that are the best of the year, and her control was impeccable. Yes, she did stand out among a cast of mostly men, but it wasn't because she was the one woman. It was because she was fantastic.

Best Ensemble
Winner - Inside Out
Runners Up - Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Steve Jobs, Spy, and Spotlight
Commentary - Yes, when thinking of ensembles, animated films are almost always automatically excluded because they aren't obvious. But it was obvious the entire time that the actors behind our favorite characters in Inside Out were the best. They brought to life each character without ever seeing their faces. From Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader, Richard Kind, to the dynamic duo of Amy Poeher and Phyllis Smith, Inside Out easily had the best cast of the year.

Best Voice Acting/Motion Capture Performance
Winner - Phyllis Smith "Inside Out"
Runners Up - Amy Poehler "Inside Out" and Jennifer Jason Leigh "Anomalisa"
Winner - There have been several moments in the last 25 years that voice performances were so good that they should have been Oscar nominees. Robin Williams in Aladdin, Jeremy Irons in The Lion King, Eddie Murphy in Shrek, Ellen Degeneres in Finding Nemo, and Ed Asner in Up are a few that come to mind. You can now add Phyllis Smith to the list. Joy is our star, and Amy Poehler is exuberant. But what separates Inside Out from so many other films is that it is a film whose emotional impact is astounding. I literally cried twice, openly bawling in this film, and was on the verge of crying even more multiple times. That is because Pete Docter and his team realized that you needed Sadness, we all need Sadness to truly grow as a person and understand life, and after this incredible performance, we could all use more Phyllis Smith as well.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner - Aaron Sorkin "Steve Jobs"
Runners Up - J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, and Michael Arndt "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and Donald Margulies "The End of the Tour"
Commentary - I know that the film fell out of favor, but I didn't think it would cost Aaron Sorkin his Oscar nomination. I am really surprised that the writer's branch couldn't see thorough the bull and reward one of our finest scribes. Apparently, no one is immune to money. But once again, it is their loss, because this rapid-paced, beautifully constructed character piece is another Sorkin masterpiece.

Best Original Screenplay
Winner - Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley, and Ronnie Del Carmen "Inside Out"
Runner Up - Alex Garland "Ex Machina"
Commentary - This category is called original screenplay. There was no film released last year that was more original than Inside Out. Period.

Best Cinematography
Winner - John Seale "Mad Max: Fury Road"
Runners Up - Edward Lachman "Carol" and Roger Deakins "Sicario"
Commentary - Mad Max is crazy, and I mean that in a good way. The intensity, the craziness, the brutality, and the beauty of Mad Max were all captured in the legend John Seale's miraculous and stunning cinematography. An easy, and deserving win.

Best Visual Effects
Winner - Star Wars: The Force Awakens"
Runners Up - Jurassic World and Ex Machina
Commentary - Unlike the prequels, J.J. and his team didn't rely solely on visual effects, and used actual sets. Not only did it help the films authenticity, but it made those moments that were effects driven feel more alive, and the ability to blend them seamlessly into the story was fantastic.

Worst Film of the Year
Winner - Aloha
Runner Up - Fifty Shades of Grey
Commentary - Almost Famous is one of my favorite films, heck probably my favorite film, and I think both Jerry Maguire and Say Anything have sentimental value, all proving that Cameron Crowe can make quality films. And I know that Rachel McAdams, Emma Stone, Bradley Cooper, Alec Baldwin, Bill Murray, and John Krasinski are good actors, and I could spend a while listing all of the great roles that each of them has done over the years. Yet, what I cannot wrap my head around is what the hell happened with Aloha. Stilted dialogue, a ridiculously incoherent plot, and inane characters, Aloha was bad, and it was even worse because it should have been much better.

Top 10 Films of 2015
1. Inside Out
2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
3. Mad Max: Fury Road
4. The Martian
5. Steve Jobs
6. Amy
7. Spy
8. Creed
9. Spotlight
10. Carol

The Next Ten: 

11. Love & Mercy
12. Tangerine
13. Trainwreck
14. Straight Outta Compton
15. Anomalisa
16. Sicario
17. Ex Machina
18. Bridge of Spies
19. The Hateful Eight
20. The Big Short

The 36th Annual Golden Raspberry "Razzie" Award Nominations

The other thing that I missed were the Razzie Nominations which always a hoot.

Worst Picture
"Fantastic Four"
"Fifty Shades of Grey"
"Jupiter Ascending"
"Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2"
"Pixels"

Worst Actor
Johnny Depp, "Mortdecai"
Jamie Dornan, "Fifty Shades of Grey"
Kevin James, "Paul Blart Mall Cop 2"
Adam Sandler, "The Cobbler" and "Pixels"
Channing Tatum, "Jupiter Ascending"

Worst Supporting Actor
Chevy Chase, "Hot Tub Time Machine 2" and "Vacation"
Josh Gad, "Pixels" and "The Wedding Ringer"
Kevin James, "Pixels"
Jason Lee, "Alvin & The Chipmunks: Road Chip"
Eddie Redmayne, "Jupiter Ascending"

Worst Actress
Katherine Heigl, "Home Sweet Hell"
Dakota Johnson, "Fifty Shades of Grey"
Mila Kunis, "Jupiter Ascending"
Jennifer Lopez, "The Boy Next Door"
Gwyneth Paltrow, "Mortdecai"

Worst Supporting Actress
Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, "Alvin & The Chipmunks: Road Chip" and "The Wedding Ringer"
Rooney Mara, "Pan"
Michelle Monaghan, "Pixels"
Julianne Moore, "Seventh Son"
Amanda Seyfried, "Love the Coopers" and "Pan"

Worst Director
Andy Fickman, "Paul Blart Mall Cop 2"
Tom Six, "Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)"
Sam Taylor-Johnson, "Fifty Shades of Grey"
Josh Trank, "Fantastic Four"
Andy and Lana Wachowski, "Jupiter Ascending"

Worst Remake, Sequel, or Rip-off
"Alvin & The Chipmunks: Road Chip"
"Fantastic Four"
"Hot Tub Time Machine 2"
"Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)"
"Paul Blart Mall Cop 2"

Worst Screen Combo
All Four “Fantastics," "Fantastic Four"
Johnny Depp and His Glued-On Moustache, "Mortdecai"
Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, "Fifty Shades of Grey"
Kevin James and either His Segue or His Glued-On Moustache, "Paul Blart Mall Cop 2"
Adam Sandler and Any Pair of Shoes, "The Cobbler"

Worst Screenplay
"Fantastic Four"
"Fifty Shades of Grey"
"Jupiter Ascending"
"Paul Blart Mall Cop 2"
"Pixels"

Razzie Redeemer Award
Elizabeth Banks
M. Night Shyamalan
Will Smith
Sylvester Stallone

2016 Cinema Eye Honors Award Winners

This week included Oscar nominations and the first week of grad school for me, so somethings slipped through the cracks. The first were the Cinema Eye Award Winners, where The Look of Silence took the top award. I think the Oscar is between this and Amy.

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
The Look of Silence

Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Joshua Oppenheimer "The Look of Silence"

Outstanding Achievement in Editing
Chris King "Amy"

Outstanding Achievement in Production
Signe Byrge Sorensen "The Look of Silence"

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
(TIE) Matthew Heineman and Matt Porwoll "Cartel Land" AND Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk
"Meru"

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score
Laurie Anderson "Heart of a Dog"

Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or Animation
Stefan Nadelman and Hisko Hulsing "Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck"

Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film
The Wolfpack

Audience Choice Prize
Meru

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Films Made for Television
Private Violence

Spotlight Award
Toto and His Sisters

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking
Buffalo Juggalos AND Hotel 22

Heterodox Award
Taxi

Legacy Award
American Movie

The Oscar Narrative: First Winner Predictions

Best Picture
Spotlight

Best Director
George Miller "Mad Max: Fury Road"

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio "The Revenant"

Best Actress
Brie Larson "Room"

Best Supporting Actor
Sylvester Stallone "Creed"

Best Supporting Actress
Alicia Vikander "The Danish Girl"

Best Adapted Screenplay
Charles Randolph and Adam McKay "The Big Short"

Best Original Screenplay
Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy "Spotlight"

Best Animated Feature
Inside Out

Best Documentary Feature
Amy

Best Foreign Language Film
Son of Saul

Best Cinematography
John Seale "Mad Max: Fury Road"

Best Costume Design
Cinderella

Best Film Editing
The Big Short

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Original Score
Ennio Morricone "The Hateful Eight"

Best Original Song
Dianne Warren and Lady Gaga "Til It Happens to You" from The Hunting Ground

Best Production Design
Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Sound Mixing
Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Sound Editing
Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Visual Effects
The Martian

Best Animated Short
Sanjay's Super Team

Best Documentary Short
Body Team 12

Best Live Action Short
Ave Maria

The Oscar Narrative: Round 2 Begins

So today the Oscar nominations were announced, and as always they are always an entertaining enterprise. Even if you are devastated by a snub (Ridley Scott), or thrilled by a surprising inclusion (Charlotte Rampling), you can always count on the Oscar nominations to be thrilling. So now that the first phase is over, we kind of wipe a blank slate. Yes its hard to forget Mad Max and The Revenant missing on SAG nods, or Spotlight missing the Eddie. But in many ways, this is the part that really matters. The momentum has shifted, there plenty of winners and losers, and while not everything that came before the nominations should be forgotten, this is where the real contenders rise, this is where the race begins. Runners set your mark!

Best Picture and Best Director
So Spotlight, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant, and The Big Short enter phase two as the top four contenders. All either over-performed (Spotlight and The Revenant), or hit all the marks they were supposed to (Big Short and Mad Max). The Martian did manage to snag a Best Picture nomination, and a lot of well-deserved nominations and I honestly thought that it would be the one to emerge as the clear winner in what has been a truly unpredictable and constantly changing season. But Ridley Scott missed out. This is wrong for so many reasons. First, The Martian is one of the best films of the year, and a lot of credit is owed to Scott's vision. But the real problem for me is that I seriously thought that no matter what happened in Best Picture, that this was the year that the Academy finally gave Scott an overdue Oscar. He could still win in the film wins Best Picture, but that is looking a lot less likely at this moment. Bridge of Spies and Brooklyn were predicted by a lot of folks, and so their nominations seemed right. But Room getting in, and Lenny Abrahamson beating out Ridley Scott is shocking to me at this point. After Toronto, Room seemed like a lock, but then it got hardly any guild support. But this is clearly a film that has a lot of passionate support, and I think it spells good news for Brie Larson. Now onto the snubs. Straight Outta Compton and Sicario did so well at the guilds, and despite six nominations across the board, it could not crack the Best Picture race. It becomes this year's Foxcatcher. The film that is clearly respected, but not beloved, and as we know it is passion that gets you those number one votes, not respect. Also, despite some nice showings from genuine blockbusters, my two favorite films of the year, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Inside Out were snubbed, although both did well below the line. We will give more discussion to who will win this thing, but let me take a moment to reflect on this year's lineup. The Oscars got in a lot of trouble last year for ignoring popular films. While I would have loved a Star Wars or Inside Out nod, it is nice to see big films like The Revenant, Mad Max, and The Martian in this lineup. Combine that with middle contenders like Bridge of Spies and The Big Short, and genuine indies like Brooklyn, Room, and Spotlight, and you really have a great lineup. Yes we can nitpick about who should have gotten in instead, and we will. But I think that his lineup, unlike last year's lineup, truly reflects, across the board, a broad cross-section of the film industry in 2015. And while we all had films we wish had gotten in, it is hard to argue the quality and value of the eight that were selected.

Acting
First, let me point out that SAG went 13/20 this year. They are too early, and have too many TV elements with the AFTRA folks to be too much of an impact, although both The Big Short and Spotlight could keep the Ensemble streak alive. Best Actor went as expected, and with Vikander and Mara making it into Supporting Actress, that category felt expected as well. Helen Mirren missed out for Trumbo, but then again, that film did not do as well here as I had thought. The other two categories had some interesting inclusions and exclusions. In Best Actress, the real surprise was the inclusion of Charlotte Rampling, and I could not be more thrilled. She is so deserving, and pulled the Marion Cotillard trick where she gets in despite no major precursors. I don't honestly think she will win, but after an incredible career, the nomination is worthy enough for me. Best Supporting Actor though had the biggest surprise of the morning. Idris Elba's snub was interesting, and considering how Room did, and the SAG Nod, the exclusion of Jacob Tremblay feels off. But both were beaten out by Tom Hardy. No precursors, but three great performances this year, and a lot of love for The Revenant, lead him to his first nomination. That category has so many face lifts, that picking a winner right now is tricky, and all of the categories will get more scrutiny and discussion as we go on. But, let me say this, there are no guarantees this year, and I love it.

Everything Else
The Animated branch continues to literally not care and go for what they like, with surprise nominations for Boy in the World and When Marnie Was There. Doc feature missed Meru and Listen to Me Marlon, but a great lineup of five, and surprises Theeb and Embrace of the Serpent marked the first nominations for Jordan and Colombia in this category. The tech categories had a few snubs and a surprises, but overall seemed to be within the realm of possibility, although I am still shocked that Star Wars got that editing nod over The Martian.

More to come, a lot more to come. We will talk, we will listen, we will watch movies. And as always, we will have to wait and see...

The 88th Annual Academy Award Nominations

Best Picture
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

Best Director
Adam McKay "The Big Short"
George Miller "Mad Max: Fury Road"
Alejandro G. Inarritu "The Revenant"
Lenny Abrahamson "Room"
Tom McCarthy "Spotlight"

Best Actor
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

Best Adapted Screenplay
Charles Randolph and Adam McKay "The Big Short"
Nick Hornby "Brooklyn"
Phyllis Nagy "Carol"
Drew Goddard "The Martian"
Emma Donoghue "Room"

Best Original Screenplay
Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen "Bridge of Spies"
Alex Garland "Ex Machina"
Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley and Ronnie del Carmen "Inside Out"
Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy "Spotlight"
Jonathan Herman Andrea Berloff; S. Leigh Savidge and Alan Wenkus "Straight Outta Compton"

Best Animated Feature
Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep Movie
When Marnie Was There

Best Documentary Feature
Amy
Cartel Land
Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire

Best Foreign Language Film
Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia)
Mustang (France)
Son of Saul (Hungary)
Theeb (Jordan)
A War (Denmark)

Best Cinematography
Ed Lachmann "Carol"
Robert Richardson "The Hateful Eight"
John Seale "Mad Max: Fury Road"
Emmanuel Lubekzi "The Revenant"
Roger Deakins "Sicario"

Best Costume Design
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant

Best Film Editing
The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Mad Max: Fury Road
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared
The Revenant

Best Original Score
Thomas Newman "Bridge of Spies"
Carter Burwell "Carol"
Ennio Morricone "The Hateful Eight
Jóhann Jóhannsson Sicario
John Williams "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

Best Original Song
“Earned It,” Fifty Shades of Grey (Music and Lyric by Abel Tesfaye, Ahmad Balshe, Jason Daheala Quenneville and Stephan Moccio)
“Manta Ray,” Racing Extinction (Music by J. Ralph and Lyric by Antony Hegarty)
“Simple Song #3,” Youth (Music and Lyric by David Lang)
“Til it Happens to You,” The Hunting Ground (Music and Lyric by Diane Warren and Lady Gaga)
“Writing’s on the Wall,” Spectre (Music and Lyric by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith)

Best Production Design
Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant

Best Sound Editing
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Sound Mixing
Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Visual Effects
Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Animated Short
Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay’s Super Team
We Can’t Live Without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow

Best Documentary Short
Body Team 12
Chau, Beyond the Lines
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Last Day of Freedom

Best Live Action Short
Ave Maria
Day One
Everythingr Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut)
Shok
Stuttere

The Oscar Narrative: Final Nominations Predictions - Final List

This is it. The big moment. There is no going back at this point. This is the final of the final list. Nominations are tomorrow morning.

Best Picture
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Spotlight

Best Director
Adam McKay "The Big Short"
George Miller "Mad Max: Fury Road"
Ridley Scott "The Martian"
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu "The Revenant"
Tom McCarthy "Spotlight"

Best Actor
Bryan Cranston "Trumbo"
Matt Damon "The Martian"
Leonardo DiCaprio "The Revenant"
Michael Fassbender "Steve Jobs"
Eddie Redmayne "The Danish Girl"

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett "Carol"
Brie Larson "Room"
Jennifer Lawrence "Joy"
Saoirse Ronan "Brooklyn"
Alicia Vikander "The Danish Girl"

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale "The Big Short"
Idris Elba "Beasts of No Nation"
Mark Ruffalo "Spotlight"
Mark Rylance "Bridge of Spies"
Sylvester Stallone "Creed"

Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Jason Leigh "The Hateful Eight"
Rooney Mara "Carol"
Helen Mirren "Trumbo"
Alicia Vikander "Ex Machina"
Kate Winslet "Steve Jobs"

Best Adapted Screenplay
Charles Randolph and Adam McKay "The Big Short"
Nick Hornby "Brooklyn"
Phyllis Nagy "Carol"
Emma Donoghue "Room"
Aaron Sorkin "Steve Jobs"

Best Original Screenplay
Matt Charman, Joel & Ethan Coen "Bridge of Spies"
Alex Garland "Ex Machina"
Quentin Tarantino "The Hateful Eight"
Josh Cooley, Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve "Inside Out"
Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer "Spotlight"

Best Animated Feature
Anomalisa
The Good Dinosaur
Inside Out
The Peanuts Movie
Shaun the Sheep Movie

Best Documentary Feature
Amy
Cartel Land
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
The Look of Silence
Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom

Best Foreign Language Film
Labyrinth of Lies (Germany)
Mustang (France)
Son of Saul (Hungary)
Theeb (Jordan)
A War (Denmark)

Best Cinematography
Janusz Kaminski "Bridge of Spies"
Robert Richardson "The Hateful Eight"
John Seale "Mad Max: Fury Road"
Emmanuel Lubezki "The Revenant"
Roger Deakins "Sicario"

Best Costume Design
Brooklyn
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Film Editing
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Black Mass
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant

Best Original Score
Thomas Newman "Bridge of Spies"
Alexandre Desplat "The Danish Girl"
Ennio Morricone "The Hateful Eight"
Johann Johannsson "Sicario"
John Williams "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

Best Original Song
DJ Frank E, Charlie Puth, Cameron Tomaz, and Andrew Cedar "See You Again" from "Furious 7"
David Lang "Simple Song #3" from "Youth"
Leon Bridges "So Long" from "Concussion"
Lady Gaga and Dianne Warren "Til It Happens to You" from "The Hunting Ground"
Sam Smith and Jimmy Napes "Writing on the Wall" from "Spectre"

Best Production Design
Bridge of Spies
Cinderella
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Sound Mixing
Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Sound Editing
Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Visual Effects
Ant-Man
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Animated Short
Bear Story
Carface (Autos Portraits)
If I Was God
Sanjay's Super Team
World of Tomorrow

Best Documentary Short
Body Team 12
Chau Behind the Lines
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
My Enemy My Brother
The Testimony

Best Live Action Short
Ave Maria
Day Light
Shok
Stutterer
Winter Light

Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award Nominations - Television and Documentary Film

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Dramatic Series
Michael Engler - Downton Abbey, "Episode 8"
Leslie Linka Glatter - Homeland, "The Tradition of Hospitality"
David Nutter - Game of Thrones, "Mother’s Mercy"
Steven Soderbergh - The Knick, "Williams and Walker"
Matthew Weiner - Mad Men, "Person to Person"

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Comedy Series
Chris Addison - Veep, "Election Night"
Louis C.K. - Louie, "Sleepover"
Mike Judge - Silicon Valley, "Binding Arbitration"
Gail Mancuso - Modern Family, "White Christmas"
Jill Soloway - Transparent, "Kina Hora"

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Movie for Television and Mini-Series
Angela Bassett "Whitney"
Laurie Collyer "The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe"
Paul Haggis "Show Me a Hero"
Kenny Leon and Matthew Diamond "The Wiz Live!"
Dee Rees "Bessie"

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Regularly Scheduled Programming
Paul G. Casey - Real Time With Bill Maher, "#1334"
Dave Diomedi  - The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, "Episode #325"
Don Roy King - Saturday Night Live, "Host: Tracy Morgan/Musical Guest: Demi Lovato"
Ryan McFaul & Amy Schumer - Inside Amy Shumer, "12 Angry Men"
Chuck O'Neil - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, "Episode #20142"

Outstanding Directorial Achievement inVariety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials
Sofia Coppola "A Very Murray Christmas"
Hamish Hamilton "The 87th Annual Academy Awards"
Don Roy King "Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special"
Beth McCarthy Miller "Adele Live In New York City"
Chris Rock "Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo"

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs
Brady Connell - The Great Christmas Light Fight, "Episode 304"
Ken Fuchs - Shark Tank, "702"
Steve Hryniewicz - Cutthroat Kitchen, "Superstar Sabotage Finale: It’s Raining Ramen"
Bertram Van Munster - The Amazing Race, "Bring the Fun, Baby!"
Adam Vetri - Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge, "God of War"

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs
Paul Hoen "Invisible Sister"
Joseph Mazzarino - Sesame Street, "The Cookie Thief"
Kenny Ortega "Descendants"
Amy Schatz - Saving My Tomorrow, "Part 3"
Sasie Sealy - Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street, "Gortimer and the Vengeful Violinist"

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary
Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi "Meru"
Liz Garbus "What Happened Miss Simone?"
Alex Gibney "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief"
Matthew Heineman "Cartel Land"
Asif Kapadia "Amy"

Gay and Lesbian Film Critics Association (GALECA) Dorian Award Nominations

FILM OF THE YEAR
The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
Spotlight

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR (Film or Television)
Sean Baker, Tangerine
Todd Haynes, Carol
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, The Revenant
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road

PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR — ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Rooney Mara, Carol
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR — ACTOR
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Tom Hardy, Legend
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

LGBTQ FILM OF THE YEAR
Carol
The Danish Girl
Freeheld
Grandma
Tangerine

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
The Assassin
Mustang
Phoenix
Son of Saul
Viva

SCREENPLAY OF THE YEAR
Emma Donoghue, Room / A24
Phyllis Nagy, Carol / The Weinstein Company
Charles Randolph and Adam McKay, The Big Short / Paramount, Regency
Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy, Spotlight / Open Road, Participant, First Look
Aaron Sorkin, Steve Jobs / Universal

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR 
Amy
Best of Enemies
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
Making a Murderer
What Happened, Miss Simone?

VISUALLY STRIKING FILM OF THE YEAR(honoring a production of stunning beauty, from art direction to cinematography)
Carol
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant

UNSUNG FILM OF THE YEAR
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Ex Machina
Grandma
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Tangerine

CAMPY FLICK OF THE YEAR
The Boy Next Door
Fifty Shades of Grey
Magic Mike XXL
Jupiter Ascending
Stonewall

TV DRAMA OF THE YEAR
Fargo
The Leftovers
Mad Men
Mr. Robot
Orange Is the New Black

TV COMEDY OF THE YEAR
Grace and Frankie
Master of None
Transparent
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep

TV PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR — ACTOR
Titus Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
Justin Theroux, The Leftovers

TV PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR — ACTRESS
Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
Jane Fonda, Grace and Frankie
Taraji P. Henson, Empire
Krysten Ritter, Jessica Jones
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

TV CURRENT AFFAIRS SHOW OF THE YEAR
Anderson Cooper 360
The Daily Show
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
The Rachel Maddow Show
Real Time With Bill Maher

LGBTQ TV SHOW OF THE YEAR
Grace and Frankie
Looking
Orange Is the New Black
Sense8
Transparent

UNSUNG TV SHOW OF THE YEAR
Broad City
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Getting On
Looking
UnReal

TV MUSICAL MOMENT OF THE YEAR
Adele: “Hello / ” Adele Live in New York City
Aretha Franklin: “(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman,” 38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors
Lady Gaga: The Sound of Music 50th anniversary tribute, 87th Annual Academy Awards
Sydney Lucas and the Cast of Fun Home: "Ring of Keys” 69th Annual Tony Awards
John Legend and Common: “Glory” (Original song nominee, Selma): 87th Annual Academy Awards

 CAMPY TV SHOW OF THE YEAR
American Horror Story: Hotel
Empire
How to Get Away With Murder
Scream Queens
Sense8

“WE’RE WILDE ABOUT YOU!” RISING STAR AWARD
Rami Malek
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez
Mya Taylor
Jacob Tremblay
Alicia Vikander

WILDE WIT OF THE YEAR (honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)
Billy Eichner
Rachel Maddow
Tig Notaro
John Oliver
Amy Schumer

WILDE ARTIST OF THE YEAR (honoring a truly groundbreaking force in the fields of film, theater and/or television)
Andrew Haigh
Todd Haynes
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Tig Notaro
Amy Schumer

TIMELESS STAR(to an actor or performer whose exemplary career is marked by character, wisdom and wit)
Jane Fonda

Makeup and Hair Stylists Guild Award Nominations

FEATURE MOTION PICTURE -­ BEST CONTEMPORARY MAKE-­UP
The Big Short
Furious 7
Pitch Perfect 2
Sicario
Youth

FEATURE MOTION PICTURE -­ BEST CONTEMPORARY HAIR STYLING
Ex Machina
Furious 7
Pitch Perfect 2
Spectre
Spy

FEATURE MOTION PICTURE -­ BEST PERIOD AND/OR CHARACTER MAKE-­UP
Brooklyn
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road

FEATURE MOTION PICTURE -­ BEST PERIOD AND/OR CHARACTER HAIR STYLING
Brooklyn
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road

FEATURE MOTION PICTURE -­ BEST SPECIAL MAKE-­UP EFFECTS
Black Mass
Ex Machina
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
Mad Max: Fury Road
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA SERIES -­ BEST CONTEMPORARY MAKE-­UP
Dancing With the Stars
Empire
House of Cards
Transparent
The Walking Dead

TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA SERIES -­ BEST CONTEMPORARY HAIR STYLING
Dancing With the Stars
Empire
House of Cards
Transparent
The Voice - Live Finale

TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA -­ BEST PERIOD AND/OR CHARACTER MAKE-­UP
Game of Thrones
Key & Peele
Masters of Sex
Penny Dreadful
Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special

TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA SERIES -­ BEST PERIOD AND/OR CHARACTER HAIR STYLING
Agent Carter
Game of Thrones
Key & Peele
Masters of Sex
Vikings

TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA SERIES -­ BEST SPECIAL MAKE-­UP EFFECTS
The Knick
Penny Dreadful
Saturday Night Live
Vikings
The Walking Dead

TELEVISION MINI SERIES (MOW) -­ BEST CONTEMPORARY MAKE-­UP
Scream Queens
Strike Back
Whitney

TELEVISION MINI SERIES (MOW) -­ BEST CONTEMPORARY HAIR STYLING
Whitney

TELEVISION MINI SERIES (MOW) -­ BEST PERIOD AND/OR CHARACTER MAKE-­UP
American Horror Story: Hotel
Bessie
Fargo
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
True Detective

TELEVISION MINI-­SERIES OR MOW -­ BEST PERIOD AND/OR CHARACTER HAIR STYLING
American Horror Story: Hotel
Astronaut Wives Club
Bessie
Grace of Monaco
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe

TELEVISION MINI SERIES (MOW) -­ BEST SPECIAL MAKE-­UP EFFECTS
American Horror Story: Hotel
Fargo
Killing Jesus
Sons of Liberty

COMMERCIALS AND MUSIC VIDEOS -­ BEST MAKE-­UP
American Horror Story, Hotel Promo
Direct TV: Deadbeat Dad Rob Lowe
Direct TV: Meathead Rob Lowe
Katy Perry - Super Bowl XIX Halftime
State Farm Coneheads

COMMERCIALS AND MUSIC VIDEOS -­ BEST HAIR STYLING
Aflac Insurance
Ariana Grande "Focus"
American Horror Story: Hotel
J'Dore Campaign/Christian Dior/Charlize Theron
2015 MTV Video Music Awards

THEATRICAL PRODUCTION -­ BEST MAKE-­UP
Abundance
Alice in Wonderland
Breaking Through
The Ghosts of Versailles
Monty Python's Spamalot

THEATRICAL PRODUCTION -­ BEST HAIR STYLING
Abudnace
Alice in Wonderland
The Ghosts of Versailles
Monty Python's Spamalot
One Night With Janis Joplin

CHILDREN AND TEEN PROGRAMMING -­ BEST MAKE-­UP
GAMERS GUIDE TO PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING
Make-­Up Artists: Annie F. Maniscalco, Molly Craytor
GAME SHAKERS
Make-­Up Artists: Michael Johnston, Patti Brand Reese
GORTIMER GIBBON’S LIFE ON NORMAL STREET
Make-­Up Artists: Julie Murray, Carleigh Herbert
HENRY DANGER
Make-­Up Artists: Michael Johnston, Patti Brand Reese
LIV AND MADDIE
Make-­Up Artists: Danielle Saunders Rush, Kim Perrodin

CHILDREN AND TEEN PROGRAMMING -­ BEST HAIR STYLING
Game Shakers
Gamers Guide to Mastering Junior High
Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street
Henry Danger

DAYTIME TELEVISION -­ BEST MAKE-­UP
The Bold and the Beautiful
The Dr. Phil Show
The Real
The Talk: Beyonce Channeled! Rocktober Halloween Spectacular
The Young and the Restless

DAYTIME TELEVISION -­ BEST HAIR STYLING
The Bold and the Beautiful
Days of Our Lives (12596)
Days of Our Lives (12749)
The Real
The Young and the Restless

The Oscar Narrative: Final Nomination Predictions - Best Picture and Best Director

Best Picture
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Spotlight

Other Contenders - Trumbo, Sicario, Straight Outta Compton, Inside Out, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Room, Ex Machina, The Hateful Eight, Steve Jobs, Beasts of No Nation

Commentary - So Sicario and Straight Outta Compton have been building quite a resume of guild support, and yet I see them as this year's Nightcrawler and Gone Girl. Heck, I was predicting a lot more love across the board with those two films, than I am with our two this year. Selma, The Blind Side, The Tree of Life, there are always going to be those nominees that get in despite lack of support across the board. That's why Sicario and Straight Outta Compton don't feel right here. Besides Roger Deakins in Cinematography, I can't name one other category for either film that feels like a safe bet. Beyond those two, I keep waiting for that come from behind nod, that surprise that no one was expecting. Is is Star Wars, which is rocketing to the highest grossing film of all time? Is it Trumbo with its incredible SAG and WGA love? Is is Inside Out, the best film of 2015, who could put Pixar back in this race? Or is Room, Ex Machina, or Beasts of no Nation? Is it a real outside contender like Anomalisa or Son of Saul? I don't know where the surprise will be, but there will be a surprise. All of that being said, I am predicting eight, but actually expecting less, maybe even as low as six. Spotlight, The Revenant, The Martian, The Big Short, and Mad Max feel like safe bets given the across the board recognition they have received. Bridge of Spies is also pretty safe, although the DGA snub means it probably can't win. That is the six. Those six feel like they are ready to go. Carol took a huge step back with the PGA snub, but rebounded with BAFTA. Brooklyn got the PGA, and despite a lot of nods, seemed to fall short at BAFTA not cracking the top categories. But I feel like combined they both have enough support across the board to make a nod happen. That makes seven and eight. As always, we'll have to wait and see...


Best Director
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu "The Revenant"
Tom McCarthy "Spotlight"
Adam McKay "The Big Short"
George Miller "Mad Max: Fury Road"
Ridley Scott "The Martian"

Other Contenders - Steven Spielberg "Bridge of Spies", Todd Haynes "Carol", Denis Villeneuve "Sicario", John Crowley "Brooklyn", Laszlo Nemes "Son of Saul", F. Gary Gray "Straight Outta Compton", Quentin Tarantino "The Hateful Eight", Lenny Abrahamson "Room", Jay Roach "Trumbo"

Commentary - Spielberg is more beloved by DGA voters than by Oscar voters, and despite that BAFTA nod, the DGA snub means he will probably miss the cut. Todd Haynes also got the Globe and BAFTA slots, but Carol is clearly not as well-liked as we had hoped, although I could see this quirky directors branch ignoring that. Finally, I would not be surprised to see a Laszlo Nemes, a John Crowley, or even a Jay Roach. But I think these five have been set for at least a week now, and the DGA confirmed just that. But there is almost always a Michael Haneke, or a Benh Zeitlin, or a Bennett Miller. I just don't know who is going to be a surprise this year.

The 68th Annual Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award Film Nominations

Best Director - Motion Picture
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu "The Revenant"
Tom McCarthy "Spotlight"
Adam McKay "The Big Short"
George Miller "Mad Max: Fury Road"
Ridley Scott "The Martian"

And a new category for Debut Director

Best First-Time Feature Film Director
Fernando Coimbra "Wolf at the Door"
Joel Edgerton "The Gift"
Alex Garland "Ex Machina"
Marielle Heller "The Diary of a Teenage Girl"
Laszlo Nemes "Song of Saul"

The 14th Annual Visual Effects Society (VES) Award Nominations

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
Furious 7
San Andreas
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
In The Heart of The Sea
Bridge of Spies
The Walk
Everest
The Revenant

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature
The Peanuts Movie
Inside Out
Anomalisa
Hotel Transylvania 2
The Good Dinosaur

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project
The Order: 1886
Halo 5: Guardians
The Hobbit: A Thief in the Shadows
Destiny: The Taken King
Assassin's Creed Syndicate

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode
Nezlamna; Sea Dogfight
Childhood's End; Night Three
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell; Arabella
The Strain; Identity
Game of Thrones; The Dance of Dragons

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial
Ikea; T-shirts
Halo 5; The Hunt Begins
Audi; Birth
SSE; Pier
Game of War; Rooftop Alliance

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project
Goosebumps VR Adventure
Nike; The Neymar Jr. Effect
Kaka's Great Adventure
Fast and Furious: Supercharged
SpongeBob SubPants

Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature
The Walk; World Trade Center
Star Wars: The Force Awakens; Falcon Chase / Graveyard
Ant-Man; The Microverse
Jurassic World; Jungle Chase
Tomorrowland; Tomorrowland Center

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal EpisodeVikings; To the Gates
Black Sails; XVIII
Penny Dreadful; And They Were Enemies
Marvel's Daredevil; Speak of the Devil
Agent Carter; Now Is Not the End

Outstanding Animated Performance in a Photoreal Feature
Star Wars: The Force Awakens; Maz
The Revenant; The Bear
Avengers: Age of Ultron; Hulk
Chappie; Chappie

Outstanding Animated Performance in an Animated Feature
The Peanuts Movie; Snoopy
The Peanuts Movie; Charlie Brown
Inside Out; Joy
The Good Dinosaur; Spot

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature
The Good Dinosaur; The Farm
Inside Out; Imagination Land
The Peanuts Movie; Charlie Brown's Neighborhood
Shaun the Sheep Movie; Under the Arches

Outstanding Animated Performance in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project
Game of Thrones; Mother's Mercy; Wounded Drogon
Game of Thrones; Dance of Dragons; Drogon Arena Rescue
SSE; Pier; Orangutan
Sainsbury's; Mog

Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project
Game of Thrones; City of Volantis
Vikings; Paris
Game of Thrones; Drogon Arena
Black Sails; Charles Town Harbor

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Photoreal Project
Ant-Man; Macro Action
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation; Underwater Torus Chamber
Star Wars: The Force Awakens; Falcon Chase / Graveyard
The Walk; Towers Walk

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project
SSE; Pier
Halo 5: The Hunt Begins
Lipton; The Revolution in Tea
Game of Thrones; Hardhome

Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Feature
San Andreas; Los Angeles Destruction
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Tomorrowland
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant; Bear Attack

Outstanding Models in a Photoreal or Animated Project
Star Wars: The Force Awakens; BB-8
Avengers: Age of Ultron; Hulkbuster
Everest; Mt. Everest
Jurassic World; Indominus Rex

Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature
Mad Max: Fury Road; Toxic Storm
Avengers: Age of Ultron; Hulk vs Hulkbuster
San Andreas; Hoover Dam / San Francisco Tsunami
San Andreas; Los Angels Destruction
Star Wars: The Force Awakens; Starkiller Base

Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Episode
Vikings; To the Gates
Game of Thrones; Hardhome
Game of Thrones; Drogon Arena
Game of Thrones; Drogon Lair

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature
Inside Out
The Peanuts Movie
The Good Dinosaur
Home

Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Commercial
SSE; Pier
Game of War; Rooftop Alliance
Halo 5; The Hunt Begins
Under Armour; Rule Yourself

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project
Skål
Jagon
Citipati
Korser