Senses World Poll and More
Mark Freeman introduces this year’s Senses of Cinema World Poll, collecting over 120 lists “from Cannes to Wellington and New York to Paraguay,” adding that “this truly represents the incredible global reach and intense local engagement with the cinema. If you ever wanted proof of the wonderful democratizing power of the cinema, it’s right here.”
Janicza Bravo, Zach Clark, Bret Easton Ellis, James Marsh, Kent Osborne, Alex Ross Perry, Joel Potrykus, Dash Shaw, Onur Tukel, and Joshua Z. Weinstein are among the filmmakers who’ve submitted lists to the amusingly illustrated Talkhouse Film poll.
Scout Tafoya has posted a monster list of 100 favorite films of 2017, and each gets a fresh write-up. At #1: Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread: “The films sounds and feels like the product of some mad fetishist from the ‘70s, a Losey or a Visconti, but it’s speaking to us in the present. I’ve never been more eager to answer.” He also lists the best of the older films he caught last year.
At Filmmaker,Vadim Rizov’s created some unique categories as he looks back on the highlights of his 2017 (“Best GoPro Use,” “Best DVD Supplement That’s Actually More,” and so on). And he’s hoping that big-screen presentations of Twin Peaks: The Return won’t be a rarity. “You can see the tiniest visual elements much more clearly, some of which were previously illegible, and unless your home stereo setup has a seriously effective subwoofer (Lynch leans bass-heavy as usual) you want to hear this on the biggest speakers available.”
David Sterritt discusses his top ten on Robin Hood Radio (16’05”).
At Film Alert 101, Adrian Martin,Geoffrey Gardner,Rod Bishop,Bruce Hodsdon,Michael Campi, and Paul Harris each list and write about what they consider to be the best first features ever.
“Hollywood had a tough year, but does that necessarily apply to independent films?” asks Anthony Kaufman in Filmmaker. “Well, as the saying goes, a receding tide sinks all boats. And so it was in 2017: If people were going out to fewer movies and streaming more episodic content at home, it affected both indie films and tentpoles. But if we look back at the films that premiered at Sundance 2017, there are a few instances to inspire hope.”
Christopher Radcliff and Lauren Wolkstein, whose The Strange Ones is now playing at the Quad Cinema in New York, write about their top ten Criterion releases.
For the BFI, Grace Barber-Plentie looks back on “10 great films of 1998.”
For One Grand Books, Tom Hanks has notes on his ten favorite books of all time.
Awards
“The biggest cultural award in Denmark, the Sonning Prize (Sonningprisen) this year goes to Danish filmmaker and screenwriter Lars von Trier,” reports Vassilis Economou for Cineuropa.
The Directors Guild of America has announced the nominees for its DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2017: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water; and there he is, in the image at the top), Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), Martin McDonaugh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk), and Jordan Peele (Get Out).
And the DGA nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director for 2017 are Geremy Jasper (Patti Cake$), William Oldroyd (Lady Macbeth), Jordan Peele again, Taylor Sheridan (Wind River) and Aaron Sorkin (Molly’s Game).
Nominated for the DGA’s Documentary award are Ken Burns and Lynn Novick (Vietnam), Bryan Fogel (Icarus), Matthew Heineman (City of Ghosts), Steve James (Abacus: Small Enough to Jail), and Errol Morris (Wormwood). The Guild’s also rolled out its nominations in the television and commercials categories.
The American Society of Cinematographers has announced its nominations for five awards to be presented on February 17. The Cinema Audio Society will present its seven awards on February 24. And Variety’s Kristopher Tapley has the nominations from the Costume Designers Guild.
The twenty-third annual Critics’ Choice Awards were presented last night:
Best Picture: The Shape of Water
Best Actor: Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
Best Actress: Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Best Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney, I, Tonya
Best Young Actor/Actress: Brooklynn Prince, The Florida Project
Best Acting Ensemble: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Best Director: Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
Best Original Screenplay: Jordan Peele, Get Out
Best Adapted Screenplay:James Ivory, Call Me by Your Name
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2049
Best Production Design: Paul Denham Austerberry, Shane Vieau, and Jeff Melvin, The Shape of Water
Best Editing (tie): Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos, Baby Driver; and Lee Smith, Dunkirk
Best Costume Design: Mark Bridges, Phantom Thread
Best Hair and Makeup: Darkest Hour
Best Visual Effects: War for the Planet of the Apes
Best Animated Feature: Coco
Best Action Movie: Wonder Woman
Best Comedy: The Big Sick
Best Actor in a Comedy: James Franco, The Disaster Artist
Best Actress in a Comedy: Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Best Sci-fi or Horror Movie: Get Out
Best Foreign Language Film: In the Fade
Best Song: “Remember Me” from Coco
Best Score: Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water
Best Comedy Series: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Best Actor in a Comedy Series: Ted Danson, The Good Place
Best Actress in a Comedy Series: Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Walton Goggins, Vice Principals
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Best Drama Series: The Handmaid’s Tale
Best Actor in a Drama Series: Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Best Actress in a Drama Series: Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: David Harbour, Stranger Things
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale
Best Limited Series: Big Little Lies
Best Movie Made for TV: The Wizard of Lies
Best Actor in a Movie Made for TV or Limited Series: Ewan McGregor, Fargo
Best Actress in a Movie Made for TV or Limited Series: Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies
Best Supporting Actor in a Movie Made for TV or Limited Series: Alexander Skarsgård, Big Little Lies
Best Supporting Actress in a Movie Made for TV or Limited Series: Laura Dern, Big Little Lies
Best Talk Show: Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Best Animated Series: Rick and Morty
Best Unstructured Reality Series: Born This Way
Best Structured Reality Series: Shark Tank
Best Reality Competition Series: The Voice
Best Reality Show Host: RuPaul, RuPaul’s Drag Race
The Alliance of Women Film Journalists has announced the winners of its EDA awards (named after AWFJ founder Jennifer Merin’s mother, actress Eda Reiss Merin). The AWFJ EDA Best Of Awards:
Best Film: The Shape of Water
Best Director: Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
Best Screenplay, Original: Jordan Peele, Get Out
Best Screenplay, Adapted: James Ivory, Call Me by Your Name
Best Documentary: Faces Places
Best Animated Film: Coco and Loving Vincent (tie)
Best Actress: Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
Best Actor: Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
Best Ensemble Cast – Casting Director: Billy Hopkins and Ashley Ingram, Mudbound
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2019
Best Editing: Lee Smith, Dunkirk
Best Non-English-Language Film: The Square
EDA Female Focus Awards:
Best Woman Director: Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
Best Woman Screenwriter: Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
Best Animated Female: Parvana, The Breadwinner
Best Breakthrough Performance: Brooklynn Prince, The Florida Prioject
Outstanding Achievement by a Woman in the Film Industry: Rose McGowan, Ashley Judd, and all who spoke out against sexual harassment
EDA Special Mention Awards:
Actress Defying Age and Ageism: Agnès Varda, Faces Places
Most Egregious Age Difference Between the Lead and the Love Interest Award: Chloe Grace Moretz and John Malkovich, I Love You, Daddy
Actress Most in Need of a New Agent: Kate Winslet, Wonder Wheel and The Mountain Between Us
Bravest Performance (tie): Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water and Margot Robbie in I, Tonya
Remake or Sequel That Shouldn’t Have Been Made: The Mummy
AWFJ Hall of Shame Award: The Sexual Tormentors: Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Brett Ratner, et al
And from the Austin Film Critics Association:
Best Film: Get Out
Best Director: Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
Best Actor: Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name
Best Actress: Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Best Supporting Actor: Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney, I, Tonya
Best Original Screenplay: Jordan Peele, Get Out
Best Adapted Screenplay: James Ivory, Call Me by Your Name
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2049
Best Score: Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water
Best Foreign-Language Film: Okja
Best Documentary: Faces Places
Best Animated Film: Coco
Best First Film: Get Out
The Robert R. “Bobby” McCurdy Memorial Breakthrough Artist Award: Timothée Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name,Lady Bird,Hostiles
Austin Film Award: I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore
Special Honorary Award: The Shape of Water’s Doug Jones and War for the Planet of the Apes’ Andy Serkis for their exemplary body and motion-capture performances, respectively.
Special Honorary Award: Harry Dean Stanton, for his body of work
AFCA 2017 Top Ten Films:
1. The Shape of Water
2. Call Me by Your Name
3. Lady Bird
4. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
5. The Florida Project
6. Dunkirk
7. Get Out
8. I, Tonya
9. The Big Sick
10. Logan
“One of the youngest of the Asian awards bodies is the bluntly titled Asian Film Awards, which have only been operating since 2007,” writes Nathaniel Rogers. And he’s got their nominations, led by Chen Kaige’s Legend of the Demon Cat.
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