Academy Award Nominations 2016
Well now doesn’t this all seem just a little frivolous after this week’s terrible bereavements? Nevertheless the remorseless wheels of industry can ever forward, with this years Academy Award nominations. As always this exercise focuses the mind and schedule into sighting a number of pictures which haven’t arrived on our shores, and although there are some gaps in the watch list I take comfort that the majority of nominees were already on my horizon. I realise people have been praising Brooklyn and I’m sure its very good but I just couldn’t muster much enthusiasm for it, but even worse is the appearance of The Danish Girl on a few which just looks painful – a two hour ponderous drama by Tom Hooper is my cinematic equivalent of Japanese water torture. Still I take succour as in a curious development the day-job is intersecting with this hobby in a quite unexpected fashion, following on from some previous exposure to regeneration activities in Essex. I can’t really speak too much about it due to confidentially and commercial constraints, and I don’t wish to sound too mysterious, but let’s just say I am becoming actively involved with the exhibition side of the UK film industry via my current assignment, and will shortly be initiating some interesting negotiations & discussions with some senior delegates….
But back to the matter at hand. Quickly casting my eyes over the nominees I can’t see any particularly controversial choices, there are no major upsets or major surprises that spring to mind, although I’m sure as usual I’ve overlooked some major snub as it’s not as if I sit here comparing and contrasting the Golden Globe, BAFTA or other award season portfolios as I couldn’t give a fuck. The lack of diversity seems to be the first point of criticism which is not a unreasonable complaint nor a particular surprise, but for me it’s encouraging to see Mad Max represented in so many categories as I concluded it was going to be snubbed due to its genre birthplace. As always I make the same annual disclaimer that awards have precisely zero connection to a movies intrinsic brilliance of lack thereof, the Oscars are the pinnacle of the industry however so this is just a fun parlour game to predict the winners as a worthless thought exercise. So as usual those in bold are the films I have seen, in italics are these I think should win and underlined those which I think will win. With The Reverent programmed for Saturday and other major nominees like Spotlight, The Big Short and Room to follow over subsequent January weekends I’ve certainly got my work cut out for me viewing wise, just as some press screening invites are also starting to barge their way into my schedule – it’s a hard life eh?
Best Picture
Until I’ve assessed the other nominees this is a hard one to call this year, I’m tempted to go with The Revenant but would the Academy go for the same director two years in a row? Then again Spies and The Martian don’t seem to be best picture quality – entertaining but not particularly memorable – and Spotlight seems too controversial / political and The Big Short strikes me as biting the hand that feeds the studios these days. Where does that leave us? Utterly confused, so I won’t finally call this until I’ve seen The Big Short, Room and Spotlight, but until then we will pray with The Revenant….EDIT – having seen the latter, yeah I guess this is the front runner, even if Mad Max is the more rounded film. No way on earth the Academy is going to give best picture to a post apocalyptic genre picture though….
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight
Best Actor In A Leading Role
I think Leo is finally gonna get his dues, and if the physical conditions he suffered are anything to go by this category is closed. I was toying with the idea of seeing Trumbo given the Kubrick connection – he wrote Spartacus if you follosh civilians didn’t know – and I really can’t see Damon being rescued by the Academy nor Redmayne reprising last years tedious win. So let’s go with Leo;
Bryan Cranston – Trumbo
Matt Damon – The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl
Best Actress In A Leading Role
Hmm, looks like the rumblings of discontent over Blanchet essentially having a supporting role, and Mara being the lead in Carol haven’t quite permeated through the Academy’s aged skulls. Also, perhaps not surprising but no Charlize Theron’s amputee energy? I was considering going to see Joy over the festive break but I just couldn’t summon the energy, I like Jennifer Lawrence but have never been entirely convinced by David O. Russell, maybe I need to reconsider. In the interim I’m going to have to go with Brie Larson who has the momentum for this at the moment, while I’ve got 45 Years on high priority via Lovefilm as its just hit the Blu-Ray rental market.
Cate Blanchett – Carol
Brie Larson – Room
Jennifer Lawrence – Joy
Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn
Best Actor In A Supporting Role
Could Sly slyly slip away with another golden statute? Or will Rylance be deadpan debating ‘Would it help?’ which is a bit on a in-joke if you haven’t seen Bridge Of Spies. Again this is very difficult to predict until I’ve assessed all the entries, but Creed has garnered a lot of affection as a rematch of Stallone’s bruising numerous Rocky wins, and there might be an element of guilt to give that picture something given that director Ryan Coogler and pugilist Michael B. Jordan seem to have been criminally overlooked in the best actor and direction categories. So for now we’ll go with Sly, although I think Rylance was quietly brilliant in Spies.
Christian Bale – The Big Short
Tom Hardy – The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight
Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone – Creed
Best Actress In A Supporting Role
That’s great to see Jennifer Jason Leigh nominated for her highest profile role since the 1980’s, in what has been broadly considered a wider snub for Tarantino’s wicked Western – no screenplay, direction or Picture nomination? One of the breakthrough stars of 2015 Alicia Vikander also gets a nod but its a shame it was for such a project, but again I haven’t see the film so perhaps I’m not being fair. I’m gonna go with Rooney Mara and her fragile turn in Haynes beautiful romance, that achievement deserves at least some acting recognition.
Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara – Carol
Rachel McAdams – Spotlight
Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs
Best Director
There is such a varied bag of material here its difficult to decouple the achievements from the genre requirements – both Miller and Inarritu have obviously crafted searing films in exceptional physical and environmental circumstances, but by all accounts Lenny Abrahamson’s claustrophobic Room excels in what could be considered an equally challenging space – how do you keep a movie interesting in a single location, and how do you hammer out great performances that reinforce that isolation? It’s a long shot but I’m going with my heart and Miller for this, to storm back with such a masterpiece that will be studied for years to come was quite remarkable,
Adam Mckay – The Big Short
George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road
Alejandro G Inarritu – The Revenant
Lenny Abrahamson – Room
Tom McCarthy – Spotlight
Best Cinematography
So once again here’s everyone’s favourite Roger Deakins on the shortlist, for his 1,057 nomination in his long and illustrious career. I’m calling it now, while I’m thinking strategically that Lubeski will get this for shooting on location, in magic hour, and achieving those phenomenal panoramas as lenses were freezing and camera equipment shattering in the remote cold the Academy will finally give Deakins the award he deserves, in what was also brilliant work in those desert scorched landscapes of Sicario.
Hateful Eight – Robert Richardson
Mad Max: Fury Road – John Seale
The Revenant – Emmanuelle Lubeski
Sicario – Roger Deakins
Best Visual Effects
It’s great to see Ex Machina here, assimilated among the big boisterous Hollywood SFX houses, with a much more low key approach to visual camouflage. Nevertheless I think Star Wars has to get some love for their fiscally shattering achievements, even if they surprisingly didn’t get a Best Picture nod.
Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Best Film Editing
I’m surprised the Academy even bothered nominating the other candidates as this is about as certain a prediction as possible. With that blistering chase narrative, with the mastery of space, cause and effect and the nerve shredding action sequences this is Mad Max’s award without question, and I’ll be furious if it doesn’t steal at least this one award.
The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Spotlight
Best Production Design
Hmm, another difficult call. Again I’m urged to go with Mad Max as the future world designs were fantastic, organically evolved that made perfect logical sense within the hermetic world, but the sweeping prestige pictures like Spies and Danish usually get the attention in this category. Then maybe The Martian will sneak in and capture this one, with its ergonomic, realistic NASA colony designs? Fuck it, I’m putting the pedal to the metal and taking a risk with the really quite seriously cheesed off Max, what have we got to lose?
Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Best Original Screenplay
There were raised eyebrows to see an animated film in this schedule, but I can’t imagine a more worthy inclusion given Inside Out’s brilliant combination of internal and external alignments, and the revolutionary absence of a major antagonist to the grist the narrative mill. Spies is more traditional and as I understand it Compton is a terrific example of the well utilised bio-pic rags-to-riches model, so who knows?
Bridge of Spies
Ex Machina
Inside Out
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton
Best Adapted Screenplay
No screenplay nod for Sorkin and Jobs? That seems……unusual. As I understand it Carol deviates from the Highsmith original so I’m not sure that will be favoured, so this might be one other place where the crowd pleasing The Martian gets a chance. It’s either than or Room which sounds like it has an interesting little screenplay flip halfway through, so in lieu of seeing the film I’m opting for that…..
The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
The Martian
Room
Best Original Score
The only category where I’ve already seen all the nominees, although that doesn’t make the choice any easier. I’m tempted to think some may opt for Morricone as a final tribute to the great man, but having seen the film there is relatively little original material buried in the contemporary pieces and previously chilled chords. I’m going for Carter Burwell’s delicate score for Carol which beautifully complemented the visual elements, of all the nominees that’s the one that most affected me emotionally which makes it a winner.
Bridge of Spies
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Best Foreign Language Film
No Phoenix? For shame Academy, but an equal shame on me as with the exception of Son Of Saul and A War I’ve not even heard of the other nominees. In any case I think Saul is a shoo-in and rightly so, a phenomenal piece of work which deserves the adoration.
Embrace of the Serpent
Mustang
Son of Saul
Theeb
A War
Best Original Song
Oh here we go again, just who bloody cares? The fact that the god awful Spectre howling is in here shows just how relevant this category is, so I’m going for the Shades track even though I can’t recall a single cadence of it. Pure guesswork.
Earned It – 50 Shades of Grey
Til It Happens To You – The Hunting Ground
Writings On The Wall – Spectre
Manta Ray – Racing Extinction
Simple Song 3 – Youth
Best Documentary – Feature
Hmm, surely this is a two horse race, from the heart-breaking Amy and the massacre baiting The Look Of Silence. Both deserve the golden gong although the latter is probably more proficient and ‘important’, but I think Amy might ring closer to home in the entertainment industry and alleviate a few guilty hearts.
Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom
Best Costume Design
As with the production design the Academy favours the historical fidelity, the classy joint which drapes a picture in some prestigious threads. So I’m going for Carol again, and that evocation of the 1950’s wafts from the screen.
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Best Sound Editing
The sound mixing awards usually come down to a battle between the action pictures scrunched with all those Foley blasts, so I’m going with Mad Max instead of Star Wars although veteran Lucasfilm sonic-smith Ben Burtt might harness some respect among the loyal old guard.
Mad Max : Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Best Sound Mixing
As above, I’m going with the really quite ill-tempered Max again;
Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Best Documentary – Short Subject
Well, I’ve heard of Claude Lanzman, the epic director of Shoah so that’s enough of a guess for me.
Body Team 12
Chau, Beyond the Lines
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of The Shoah
A Girl in the River
Last Day of Freedom
Best Makeup And Hairstyling
Strange inclusion of the Danish film about the guy who ages quite dramatically throughout the film, a rare domestic box office smash which didn’t translate to a international audience. So again I’m going with the irksome max for one final flaming guitar lick;
Mad Max: Fury Road
The 100-year-old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Diasappeared
The Revenant
Best Live Action Short Film
I wonder if they send screeners of these to Academy members? I suppose they do, but I’m surprised to see this category still hanging in there on the prestige portfolio, not relegated to the ‘boring’ technical awards which are awarded in the separate ceremony. Guesswork as always,
Ava Maria
Day One
Everything Will Be Okay
Shok
Stutterer
Best Animated Short Film
As above, pure guesswork as always unless I find the time to see which of these may be on-line. Lets go with the Cosmos one…
Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay’s Superteam
We Can’t Live Without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow
Best Animated Feature Film
Its encouraging to see Anomalisa on here which I’m really looking forward to given the presence of Charlie Kauffman and the extraordinary plaudits its got from the States, and as something different to the usual family orientated CGI animated behemoths. That said I think Pixar deserve another win for the brilliant Inside Out, and I haven’t even heard of the other nominees…
Anomalisa
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep
Boy and the Wild
When Marnie Was There
Maps To The Stars (2014)
‘Burn Hollywood Burn’ is the mantra of David Cronenberg’s new film, a corrosive glance at the denizens and degradations of the beautifully adored and venomously vacuous. Working from a script from renowned Los Angeles wordsmith Bruce Wagner Maps To The Stars plants another seed of satirical savagery in the mould of Altman’s The Player, the Coen’s Barton Fink, Vincette Minelli’s The Bad & The Beautiful or the more recent Tropic Thunder, biting that hands that feeds with a filmmaker reveling in the tortured tribulations of Tinseltown. What sets this film apart from its predecessors is Cronenberg’s gleeful unpeeling of the rotting core at the heart of the film business, pitching the entire gamut of mythmakers as poisonous narcissists, with every layer – agents, actors, directors, executives, producers – all squatting in some Dantesque sun bleached Gehenna, willing to sell their very soul to prosper in the city of fallen angels. When it comes to DNA strands of Hollywood shining a dark mirror into its own festering conscience Maps To The Stars is lensed in the tragic and tyrannical mould of Mullholland Drive, rather than the flippant mocking of Sullivan’s Travels.
The film follows a half dozen characters as their careers and lives intertwine in a nest of serpentine egoism. New starry eyed arrival Agatha (Mia Wasikowski, effortlessly isolated) arrives in LA, afflicted with mysterious burn scars she begins a remote romance with chauffeur cum aspiring actor and screenwriter Jerome (Robert Pattinson). Jerome strategically takes a real shine to her once she lands a job as personal assistant to Havana Segrand (a frantic Julianne Moore, ironically likely to get an Oscar nomination next February), a highly strung fading star who desperately needs a starring role to resurrect her faltering career. Her masseuse / psychiatrist / Jungian primal screen therapist is the slithering Stafford Weiss (John Cusack), a shuddering salesman whose hollow metaphysical platitudes are as desolate as the minimalist décor of his Beverley Hills mansion. His wife Christina (Olivia Williams) closely manages the career of their brat-child star Benjie (Evan Bird) who is wrestling with a rehab stint and being raised as a thoroughly hateful brat, nervously assuring the studio that he’s clean as he signs up for the latest instalment of the family friendly franchise Bad Babysitter. All are haunted by ghosts of the past, some of which are less incorporeal than their distressed mental states seem to suggest, promising a biblical reckoning in the modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah.
What a bunch of absolute charmers, as sour as a widowed lemon grove it doesn’t get more acidic than this, as Cronenberg turns the bile up to choking proportions in this scabrous, ruthless vision of the contemporary film industry in moral disarray. There is not one human trait which could charitably be described as unmotivated in Maps To The Stars, as the venal, self obsessed dwellers discard or exploit their brood with callous indifference, a cycle of abuse which has spun for numerous nepotistic generations. Like much of Cronenbergs pate period work this is another frigid film, a coolly measured dissection of the entertainment world’s body politic, neatly dissembled in his sterile dissection dish. Whilst it is clearly a comedy with a pitch black heart it is not exactly the sort of laugh-riot which prompts rolling in the aisles, offering more grimacing grunts of approval at the observations and activities of these loathsome individuals (seriously, the Bieber alike and all his peers could die in a particularly prolonged fire and the rest of humanity would rejoice in this cleansing annihilation of their gene pool) before in the final act the moral abyss which has only been grazed through Wagner’s supernatural leaning script plunges deep into squalid violence and taboo bruising sexuality.
Cronenberg has built an impressive cult of long devoted accomplices over his four decade career, working with his wife Denise on costume duties, Howard Shore 0n muted musical arrangements (well, muted in comparison to his more mainstream franchise gigs), production designer Carol Spier, longtime editor Ronald Sanders (who has cut every one of his film since Scanners in 1981) and digitally attuned cinematographer Peter Suschitzky. There’s a distinctive, flattened dynamic range to his films which like a Fincher composition can be spotted at a million pixellated paces, moulding a very flat, shallow-focus plane which is carefully cut around his principals modulated performances – Wasikowski is particularly modulated in this film for a character with a particularly painful history. This precipitates that cold, distant feel to his films which eerily complements his downplaying of emotional reverence, of not yielding to an audiences hunger for empathy and identification, gestating his human subjects as cogs in some self replicating machine whom follow their impregnated motions within society.
This spartan approach indicates little in the way of being pushed into how to think, of what he’s trying to ‘say’ in his movies, an aesthetic which permits individual floodgates of meaning and musings in the eye of the beholder. This failure to commit leaves a lingering and slightly hollow taste to his work, a slightly disquieting feeling of something missing as the mechanistic plots arc through their predetermined movements – like Cosmopolis, A History Of Violence and much of the last two decades of work its abundantly clear where the tale will end from a very early vantage point. Nevertheless some DNA strands emerge between the mind and the body, this being Cronenberg the film has a rather ghoulish fascination with bodily functions which are not always easy to stomach, the violence for the most part remains at a minimum aside from a few incendiary incidents. Maps To The Stars is Cronenberg’s cartography of Hollywood as a land wreathed in incest and vacuous vanity, haunted by ghosts and infected with demons;
Minty's Menagerie 
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