The headline says Roma, The Favourite and A Star is Born lead, but no – Roma leads with 9, followed by the other two. Though I appreciate their effort at inclusion, their choice of Lynne Ramsay is not going to help a consensus around one female nominee who MIGHT break through. None will, partly for this reason. No one can decide on which female, which film, etc. Marielle Heller for Can You Ever Forgive Me is somehow not a sexy enough pic for film critics, ditto Debra Granik (not sexy in the traditional sense, but in the film critic sense which you understand if you’ve been doing this as long as I have). They will say “we don’t care about the Oscars. We just picked what we liked.” And perhaps that’s true, but those angry because there is no single Greta Gerwig that lights everyone’s fire? Well, Gretas don’t come around very often. They liked her movie but more importantly, they liked her brand. None of the women in the race, save for Ramsay even have a brand – they’re just good directors. But with women, they really do need that thing they stand for to be part of the whole package, weirdly enough. It might even be true with men, come to think of it. Yorgos Lanthimos has a brand. Alfonso Cuaron has a brand. Even Bradley Cooper now has a brand. Who are they and what do they stand for? They must carve out that identity, that style, that thumbprint, to break through. Alas. With women, sometimes even having that brand isn’t enough.
Here are their pics:
BEST PICTURE
The Favourite
First Reformed
Hereditary
Roma
A Star is Born
BEST DIRECTOR
Bradley Cooper(-) A Star is Born
Alfonso Cuaron (-) Roma
Yorgos Lanthimos (-) The Favourite
Lynne Ramsay (-) You Were Never Really Here
Paul Schrader (-) First Reformed
BEST ACTOR
Christian Bale (-) Vice
Bradley Cooper (-) A Star is Born
Ethan Hawke (-) First Reformed
Rami Malek (-) Bohemian Rhapsody
Joaquin Phoenix (-) You Were Never Really Here
BEST ACTRESS
Yalitza Aparicio (-) Roma
Toni Collette (-) Hereditary
Regina Hall (-) Support the Girls
Lady Gaga (-) A Star is Born
Melissa McCarthy (-) Can You Ever Forgive Me?
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali (-) Green Book
Timothee Chalamet (-) Beautiful Boy
Richard E. Grant (-) Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Michael B. Jordan (-) Black Panther
Steven Yeun (-) Burning
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Olivia Colman (-) The Favourite
Elizabeth Debicki (-) Widows
Zoe Kazan (-) The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Regina King (-) If Beale Street Could Talk
Rachel Weisz (-) The Favourite
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Eighth Grade (-) Bo Burnham
The Favourite (-) Deborah Davis & Tony McNamara
First Reformed (-) Paul Schrader
Roma (-) Alfonso Cuaron
Vice (-) Adam McKay
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BlacKkKlansman (-) Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Wilmott & Spike Lee
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (-) Nicole Holofcener & Jeff Whitty
The Death of Stalin (-) Armando Iannucci, David Schneidere & Ian Martin
If Beale Street Could Talk (-) Barry Jenkins
A Star is Born (-) Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Ruben Brandt: Collector
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Free Solo
Minding the Gap
RBG
Three Identical Strangers
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
BEST FOREIGN FILM
Burning
Capernaum
Cold War
Roma
Shoplifters
MOST PROMISING FILMMAKER
Ari Aster (-) Hereditary
Bo Burnham (-) Eighth Grade
Bradley Cooper (-) A Star is Born
Bing Liu (-) Minding the Gap
Boots Riley (-) Sorry to Bother You
MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Yalitza Aparicio (-) Roma
Elsie Fisher (-) Eighth Grade
Lady Gaga (-) A Star is Born
Thomasin McKenzie (-) Leave No Trace
John David Washington (-) BlacKkKlansman
BEST EDITING
First Man (-) Tom Cross
The Other Side of the Wind (-) Orson Welles & Bob Murawski
Roma (-) Alfonso Cuaron & Adam Gough
Widows (-) Joe Walker
You Were Never Really Here (-) Joe Bini
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Cold War (-) Lukasz Zal
The Favourite (-) Robbie Ryan
First Man (-) Linus Sandgren
If Beale Street Could Talk (-) James Paxton
Roma (-) Alfonso Cuaron
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
First Man (-) Justin Hurwitz
If Beale Street Could Talk (-) Nicholas Britell
Mandy (-) Johann Johannsson
Suspiria (-) Thom Yorke
You Were Never Really Here (-) Jonny Greenwood
BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
Annihilation
Black Panther
The Favourite
Paddington 2
Roma
BEST USE OF VISUAL EFFECTS
Annihilation
Black Panther
First Man
Mission: Impossible—Fallout
Paddington 2
Nominations By The Numbers
9 Nominations: Roma
7 Nominations: The Favourite, A Star is Born
4 Nominations: First Man, First Reformed, If Beale Street Could Talk, You Were Never Really Here
3 Nominations: Black Panther, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Eighth Grade, Hereditary
2 Nominations: Annihilation, BlacKkKlansman, Burning, Cold War, Minding the Gap, Paddington 2, Vice, Widows
1 Nomination: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Beautiful Boy, Bohemian Rhapsody, Capernaum, The Death of Stalin, Free Solo, Green Book, Incredibles 2, Isle of Dogs, Leave No Trace, Mandy, Mission: Impossible—Fallout, The Other Side of the Wind, RBG, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Ruben Brandt: Collector, Shoplifters, Sorry to Bother You, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Support the Girls, Suspiria, Three Identical Strangers, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
My girl Zoe gets a mention – sweet! The Death of Stalin for screenplay, and some First Man mentions – not bad! And finally some Annihilation for production design…
Green Book missing nominations for picture, director AND screenplay could be important – those are all statistically relevant, as none of the last 15 BP winners (12 for screenplay) has missed them. As is, therefore, Beale Street missing picture and director. As for A Star is Born (and everything else atop the BP race, minus Roma) not getting in for editing, that’s possibly also relevant, but statistically it’s not. The category was introduced by this group 6 years ago, and the first five BP winners got in for that, but The Shape of Water didn’t. So, sample way too small and already an exception. But of course it shows ASIB is vulnerable to editing snubs. The industry might have other ideas there – it remains to be seen…
The updated stats table (the top 16), with ASIB breaking the top two and Green Book and Beale Street dropping a bit:
Roma 19 13
A Star Is Born 17 12
Green Book 16 10
The Favourite 13 10
First Reformed 13 9
BlacKkKlansman 13 8
If Beale Street Could Talk 12 9
Eighth Grade 12 8
Vice 8 6
Can You Ever Forgive Me? 7 5
A Quiet Place 7 4
Black Panther 6 4
Mary Poppins Returns 5 4
The Death of Stalin 3 2
Bohemian Rhapsody 2 2
Crazy Rich Asians 2 2
Why on earth is it so hard to include in these articles one important fact?! When are the awards going to be given out. Article after article on awards, year after year, almost never mention this most obvious question. I just don’t get it.
Noted.
The Chicago critics will announce their winners at an event later tonight, December 8.
Nods approvingly in Thomasin Mckenzie’s direction.
Anyone think Ann Dowd has a shot for Hereditary? I saw her as a NGNG Globe pick, but aside from that, nothing nowhere. She’s great in a pivotal role.
Hereditary!!!!!!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m sorry- but why was this article led off with a feminist rant? I get the need for the discussion, but when you struggle to write an article that doesn’t hit HARD on the topic, you begin to dull your point and damage your credibility. This is a relatively minor film critics award nomination report. It doesn’t always need to be activism, Sasha- there’s room for some journalism here, too.
Just have seen “First Reformed”, amazing film and amazing performance by Ethan Hawke. Amanda Seyfried is also very good in the supporting role, but the film all in all is a work of quality by a very good veteran director on top of his creative power. I just hope enough Academy members will see this film and honour it. Truly one of the five best films I´ve seen this year.
That said, kudos for the Chicago Film Critics for including many well deserving names that may get overlooked by the Guilds or the Academy but nevertheless will be remembered by the ones who care about arthouse films. Anne Ramsey, Joaquin Phoenix, polish cinematographer Lukasz Zal (for the excellent Cold War), Thom Yorke, and of course everyone mentioned for “First Reformed”.
I´m pretty sure it´s all downhill from here…;-)
Oscar can always still shock. Remember the David Lynch director noms? And conversely, the Ben Affleck and Tilda Swinton snubs (Argo and Kevin).
In terms of Ethan Hawke and Paul Schrader (screenplay for sure, maybe also for directing) I see good chances, the film itself might be too dark and too sober for the main category – hope I´m wrong. “You were never really there” is far outside the Academy´s comfort zone, I fear.
Now THIS is more like it!
Okay, I legitimately love some of their choices. Debicki in Supporting? Ramsay AND Schrader in Director? Other Side of the Wind (and You Were Never Really Here) in Editing? Suspiria in Score? All awesome choices.
But the crowning delight for me is seeing Annihilation AND Paddington 2 in Production Design. Annihilation is still my #1 in that category (it’s also still in my top 5 overall), but Paddington 2, which I finally saw the other day, is a very close second.
I’m tingly.
“Annihilation is still my #1 in that category”
Same. My #2, though (First Man), didn’t get nominated… 🙁
best noms until now. Annihilation is here, paddington 2 is here, plus love for hereditary, burning, you were never really here, Death of stalin for screenplay, the editing nod for the other side of the wind (and for widows), the music nod for mandy (alongside Jonny and Tom) and also Debicki. wd chicago!
LOL…Cooper and Gaga getting “most promising” nominations
First time Aparicio is showing up on these lists. Roma is rapidly solidifying its position.
I think Cooper and Gaga will become some of the most successful people in the entertainment industry after this film…
Lol? First feature film diecting for Cooper and Gaga first feature film for acting. Did you actually laugh out loud? Probably scoff was more accurate.
I certainly did laugh. And given that there are only so many films where a real life singer can play a singer in the movies, the idea that La Gaga is the new La Streep is in fact highly comical.
Radiohead vs Radiohead!
Damn, I didn´t realize Jonny Greenwood´s also there! I´d award him over Thom in this case.
Great to see Joaquin and Ramsay recognised- great film. Joaquin such an under appreciated actor awards-wise. Was phenomenal in Mary Magdalene too.
And Hereditary in BP!!
Toni Collette!!!
I’m going to enjoy each and every mention.
I know she’s out of Oscar contention but let’s enjoy any recognition she gets
Wait until SAG and LA until you write her off. That is the performance of the year, hands down.
Category Fraud alert with Mr. Ali. Why do they keep doing this?
Yes why isn’t more being said about this?? It’s CLEARLY a lead role
No, it isn’t. Emma Stone is the driver.
I believe that Andrew was responding to mdf60’s post about Ali, not to Gabriel’s reply about Colman.
Yes I meant Ali not Colman.
I like these choices. Claudiu, look—Zoe Kazan!
🙂 I know… I LOVE that – and the reaction people have had to it!
Congratulations to the Chicago film critics! This is a phenomenal list.
Also, Sasha said that including Ramsay isn’t doing any good in the search of one female filmmaker to champion but in theory why couldn’t it be Ramsay who everyone gathers around, why does it have to be Heller (who has yet to show up anywhere in a unisex director category) or Granik (whose film is recieving notably less awards and nominations than Ramsay’s film). She’s of all the female filmmakers even near the race the one who has had the most impressive career so far (Morvern Callar and We Need to Talk about Kevin are both genuinely incredible and if Ratcatcher is even half as good as I’ve heard it probably is as well) and her new film is by far one of the year’s best.
Is saying that choosing Ramsay doesn’t help at all any more helpful in this search, isn’t it a little bit of blocking the narrative of someone when they start to burst out as an option just because the person getting the narrative isn’t the one you expect it to be? I know that Ramsay is an unlikely nominee but I don’t think we should say: “This doesn’t matter and doesn’t help” when they’re championing a great female filmmaker and presenting an option where most groups pretend there aren’t any just because the pundits feel like certain other films would be stronger in theory if people voted for them.
Heller would never get in because the direction just isn’t that flashy. Ramsay’s work on YWNRH is a tour de force. She’s pretty much tied with Spike Lee for my #1 spot.
Glad to see Yorgos Lanthimos get the attention he deserves. Ditto Joaquin.
david ehrlich and now him, Vice will be lucky to have a green on metacritic
https://twitter.com/tyburr/status/1070797534740787202
Hawke and Collette locked for a win with all this love for their movies. Hawke i think will sweep most of these critics that will try everything to push him for oscar nomination, especially after last snub at globe.
I hope your critic push scenario will also apply to Collette. I can’t believe she needs it, but apparently her film came out too early. Or maybe it’s the tired “genre thing”. Whatever. I pray she (and the cast) prevail at SAG.
I’m in love with the fact that Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood are competing against each other in Score.
Whoot whoot! So proud of my hometown critics for putting together the best nominee slate I’ve seen yet. Can we replace “A Star Is Born” with “The Rider” and just make that our Best Pic lineup at the oscars please?
BEGIN RANT: And speaking of “A Star Is Born”…..I have officially decided that…yes…I am living in some kind of alternate universe where people consider that movie to be a significant contribution to film. I could not be more mystified at its rapturous reception by everyone, audiences and critics alike. I suppose if you’ve never even heard of any of the other versions you might think this movie is decent. But if you’ve seen any of the others, you realize that the new one is nothing but a pedestrian retread. END RANT
But did I mention that otherwise these nominations kick ass?
You’re not alone. I was extremely underwhelmed by it. I may make a point of seeing it again when it comes out on DVD, but I’m legitimately baffled by the level of acclaim it’s received. “Shallow” is a good song, but beyond that…it’s a pretty empty film in my eyes.
I third this. It’s better than the Streisand, but give me the Garland version any day.
Agreed. I really don’t understand how it’s the frontrunner with so many great movies this year.
So excited to see Zoe Kazan and Stephen Yeun on this list. Yeun gives what is arguably one of the creepiest yawns in motions pictures in Burning. And Kazan would be a front-runner for Best Supporting Actress if the film overall was getting more traction.
“And Kazan would be a front-runner for Best Supporting Actress if the film overall was getting more traction.”
I haven’t had a chance to see this yet (I’m dying to), but I’m not at all surprised to hear my favorite working actress shines yet again…
Art Direction: Padington 2, not First Man? Do I have that right? Okay, just checking.
Paddington 2 is a beautiful film to look at. Like a living storybook. I really wish I’d seen it in a theater, that’s how visually intricate it is.
So many astonishing nominations here, especially in the acting categories, male and female, lead and supporting. Joaquin Phoenix for You Were Never Really Here, Steve Yeun for Burning, so, so good… It’s the supporting actress category though that is just a thing of beauty lol. Zoe Kazan for The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs? That’s awesome and my God deserving as hell. The best nomination here for me though is the one of the mesmerizing Elizabeth Debicki for her masterful turn in Widows. Why can’t this marvel of an actor win everything for her magnificent performance? The scene she slaps Viola Davis and their dialogue afterwards should earn her the Oscar alone. It’s a shame the picks from major televised awards aren’t like this. It would have made for such an exciting Oscar night. Best nominations from a critics group thus far for me, like honestly I can’t believe how amazing some of their picks are here…
“Zoe Kazan for The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs? That’s awesome and my God deserving as hell.”
Zoe is the reason I can’t quite call Emma Stone my #1 favorite working actress anymore. 🙂 (This, since she impressed me yet again in The Monster, 2-3 years ago. Then, of course, came The Big Sick, which only cemented it, and then I started watching some of her older stuff. She’s just so great in everything!…) I can’t wait to see this movie!…
“The best nomination here for me though is the one of the mesmerizing Elizabeth Debicki for her masterful turn in Widows.”
Definitely a highlight of this list, indeed.
Glad you love those wonderful ladies as well. Zoe is so multitalented it’s ridiculous – incredible writer, actor, just everything. I can see why she chose someone like Paul Dano as her partner, love them both. Elizabeth Debicki is going places. I saw her in The Tale and Widows within the space of two days, I mean talk about range. She carries herself with a grace that’s almost reminiscent of a young Cate Blanchett (with whom she worked on stage already). Astonishing talent. Ugh, I could talk for actors like Zoe and Elizabeth for hours. Artists with a capital A. They love so much what they do and it shows in their work in such an incredible way.
“Zoe is so multitalented it’s ridiculous – incredible writer, actor, just everything.”
She is Elia’s granddaughter, after all… 🙂
“I can see why she chose someone like Paul Dano as her partner, love them both.”
Same here. My favorite Hollywood couple, pretty much by far.
“Elizabeth Debicki is going places. I saw her in The Tale and Widows within the space of two days, I mean talk about range.”
I first saw her in The Great Gatsby and she was already quite memorable in that.
“She carries herself with a grace that’s almost reminiscent of a young Cate Blanchett (with whom she worked on stage already).”
Very good comparison! Hadn’t thought of that. Couldn’t agree more…
These are excellent nominations. Roma will probably win this, but I’m very curious about Best Actress.
Toni deserves this so much. She’s just a gem of an actor.
She should be a shoo-in for the Oscar, even in this incredibly strong year. It is a career performance.
Oh for sure, she’s just otherworldly in her part. A performance for the ages – she’s too good for The Oscars anyway.
what do you mean by asshole culture?
Nice to see Ethan Hawke and Toni Collette.
Steven Yuen – what a great choice.
Death of Stalin getting a nod.
Those 5 foreign films keep being nominated. I wonder if all 5 will make the top 9 list.
That’s not entirely true about FLF: among other things, Capernaum missed at NBR and the Satellites, Burning missed at the Satellites and the Globes, and Cold War missed at the Globes.
Roma and Shoplifters have done very well.
I should’ve said that those 5 seem to be appearing the most compared to the rest of the foreign films.
I’m just praying for Supa Modo (which I haven’t even seen yet) to swoop in out of the sky and show up on the shortlist, surprising everyone except me.
I don’t think that Burning will make the 9 and I could easily see Shoplifters missing as well
Shoplifters? Why? I think that film is easy to get and easy to love, stuff that typically does well with awards bodies. I think Cold War is the one that may miss.
I feel like Cold War is being talked about more and Amazon seems to be doing a really good work with the campaign, making its presence be felt. And the Globes didn’t go for Ida either so I don’t think the Globes miss is that problematic for the film. Instead Shoplifters really seems to be thought of as “the Palme winner”. When people speak about it, they don’t seem to mention: “This is a great film” but rather “This film won the Palme d’or”, kind of portraying a lack of passion towards it. There are also more easily sentimental films in the race (like the genuinely hideous Capernaum) and I think that they might look somewhere else than a film that is quietly emotional. Also, Kore-eda hasn’t fared well with the Academy in the past either.
But I’m still at the moment probably predicting Shoplifters to get nominated as well, I just see reasons why it could miss eventually. And perhaps this is all just me trying to downplay its chances so that I won’t be as heartbroken if it misses as it is my second-favourite film of the year so far, right after the film I’m even more cynical about getting in, Burning
I thought Capernaum was astounding (in a good way). It’s my second favourite movie of the year so far – after Maquia: When The Promised Flower Blooms (which – *sigh* – seems to be getting ignored pretty much absolutely everywhere).
I’ve seen 11 of this year’s Foreign Language Oscar submissions, and Roma is actually my third favourite (after Shoplifters). Girl is my number 9, and Burning right down at the bottom (after I Am Not A Witch). I’d honestly prefer it (slightly) if Border would get in over Cold War, though each are very good in their own ways. I wouldn’t mind if Woman At War and Donbass both made the shortlist.
Paweł Pawlikowski‘s Ida won Academy, BAFTA, European Film, Spirit, Polish Academy, and Goya Awards. Łukasz Żal and Ryszard Lenczewski were nominated for cinematography as well. What was remarkable was that there names were pronounced correctly at the announcement and followed by Dick “Poop”. It should make best foreign film and Zal could get nominated again.
I’d be really disappointed if Shoplifters misses it.
A miss would be obscene but that’s exactly what the Academy keeps doing especially in this category