As a founding member of the Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society, it has been of the utmost honor to usher in a new era when it comes to critics collectives. Specifically how this institution stands out could not be illustrated more brilliantly than by its announcement today of the nominations for the best in film for the year that comes to a close in a matter of weeks.
Leading the charge with 11 nods is Guillermo del Toro glorious romantic fantasy The Shape of Water. Close behind is the universally adored (it recently set a record for its scoring a 100-percent on Rotten Tomatoes) Lady Bird. The Greta Gerwig directorial debut (which she also wrote) earned nine nominations. Just behind Gerwig’s sensational cinematic coming out party is a man who puts the vet in veteran filmmaker, Christopher Nolan, and his critically treasured blockbuster, Dunkirk.
Other nods of note include Jordan Peele’s smash hit (and also another impressive directorial debut), Get Out. That horror/social commentary comedy flick scored nods for Best Male Director, Best First Feature and Best Picture.
The LAOFCS categories are a delight and should prove to be quite the buzz-generating fury as film fans will wait with bated breath to see who wins in categories such as Best Animated/Visual Effect Performance, Best Stunt Work, Best Performance by an Actor or Actress Under 23 Years Old and Best Male Director and Best Female Director.
Oscars, take note because many of the nominees may come as a surprise to that voting body, but not to those who truly adore and treasure the art of cinema. For example, Sir Patrick Stewart earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Logan. Yeah, let that soak in… the man deserves serious award season love for his stunning turn in that superhero film. Another nod that we hope makes its way all the way to Academy Awards nomination announcement is Tiffany Haddish for her scene-stealing turn in the smash hit Girls Trip.
The LAOFCS was founded in 2016 by Scott Menzel, Scott Mantz and Krisily Kennedy and set its goal as seeking to comprise a membership of critics who not only write thought-provoking and insightful reviews, but are critiques of films penned by a diverse group of souls, reflective of the cornucopia of peoples that make up the United States, circa 2017.
The winners will be announced at a formal affair on January 3, ushering in a new era of critic circles awards that will undoubtedly change the landscape of awards season in a myriad of ways.
Without further ado… here is the full list of nominations!
BEST PICTURE
- The Big Sick
- Colossal
- Call Me By Your Name
- Get Out
- I, Tonya
- Lady Bird
- Molly’s Game
- The Post
- The Shape of Water
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
BEST FEMALE DIRECTOR
- Dee Rees, Mudbound
- Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
- Kathryn Bigelow, Detroit
- Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman
- Sofia Coppola, The Beguiled
BEST MALE DIRECTOR
- Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk
- Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
- Jordan Peele, Get Out
- Luca Guadagnino, Call Me By Your Name
- Steven Spielberg, The Post
BEST ANIMATED / VISUAL EFFECT PERFORMANCE
- Andy Serkis, War for the Planet of the Apes
- Doug Jones, The Shape of Water
- Dan Stevens, Beauty and the Beast
BEST EDITING
- Baby Driver
- Dunkirk
- I, Tonya
- The Post
- The Shape of Water
BEST SCORE
- Blade Runner 2049
- Dunkirk
- Phantom Thread
- The Shape of Water
- War for the Planet of the Apes
BEST STUNT WORK
- Atomic Blonde
- Baby Driver
- Dunkirk
- John Wick: Chapter 2
- Wonder Woman
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR OR ACTRESS UNDER 23 YEARS OLD
- Brooklynn Prince, The Florida Project
- Dafne Keen, Logan
- Jacob Tremblay, Wonder
- Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
- Timothée Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name
BEST SCI-FI/ HORROR
- Blade Runner 2049
- Get Out
- It
- It Comes at Night
- The Shape of Water
BEST ACTION/WAR
- Baby Driver
- Dunkirk
- Logan
- War for the Planet of the Apes
- Wonder Woman
BEST COMEDY/MUSICAL
- The Big Sick
- The Disaster Artist
- Girls Trip
- I, Tonya
- Lady Bird
BEST FIRST FEATURE
- Aaron Sorkin, Molly’s Game
- Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
- Kogonada, Columbus
- Geremy Gasper, Patti Cake$
- Jordan Peele, Get Out
BEST INDEPENDENT FILM
- The Big Sick
- Colossal
- A Ghost Story
- I, Tonya
- Lady Bird
BEST BLOCKBUSTER
- Beauty and the Beast
- Dunkirk
- Logan
- War for the Planet of the Apes
- Wonder Woman
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Bruno Delbonnel, Darkest Hour
- Dan Laustsen, The Shape of Water
- Hoyte van Hoytema, Dunkirk
- Rachel Morrison, Mudbound
- Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2049
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
- Blade Runner 2049
- Dunkirk
- The Shape of Water
- War for the Planet of the Apes
- Wonder Woman
BEST DOCUMENTARY
- An Inconvenient Sequel
- Jane
- Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond
- Step
- Whose Streets?
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
- BPM, France
- First They Killed My Father, Cambodia
- In the Fade, Germany
- The Square, Sweden
- Thelma, Norway
BEST ANIMATED FILM
- The Breadwinner
- Coco
- Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
- The LEGO Batman Movie
- Loving Vincent
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani, The Big Sick
- Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
- Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor, The Shape of Water
- Jordan Peele, Get Out
- Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- Aaron Sorkin, Molly’s Game
- Luca Guadagnino, James Ivory, & Walter Fasano, Call Me by Your Name
- Michael H. Weber & Scott Neustadter, The Disaster Artist
- Scott Frank, James Mangold, & Michael Green, Logan
- Virgil Williams & Dee Rees, Mudbound
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Allison Janney, I, Tonya
- Holly Hunter, The Big Sick
- Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
- Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water
- Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Idris Elba, Molly’s Game
- Michael Stuhlbarg, Call Me By Your Name
- Patrick Stewart, Logan
- Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
BEST ACTRESS
- Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
- Jessica Chastain, Molly’s Game
- Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
- Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
BEST ACTOR
- Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
- Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
- James Franco, The Disaster Artist
- Timothée Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name
- Tom Hanks, The Post