2017 Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) Winner Predictions

With the NYFCC announcing their winners just days ago and giving their top prize to Lady Bird and Director to The Florida Project‘s Sean Baker, expect some differences from LAFCA, who sometimes (intentionally) wants to differentiate themselves from their East Coast comrades. In this decade the two organizations have matched up twice for their top film: in 2010 with The Social Network and 2014 with Boyhood. Both films were the overwhelming critical favorites in their respective years and both were (by all standards) 2nd place at the Oscars for Best Picture.

Last year Moonlight won here with La La Land as the runner-up, and also in Director where Jenkins won to Chazelle’s runner-up. NYFCC chose La La Land as their Best Film and Jenkins in Director. We all know how that turned out when it came time for the Oscars.

This year feels like a battle between Call Me By Your Name and Get Out, which is probably going to be a repeated phrase this season. But Lady Bird, The Florida Project and even Dunkirk are ready to spoil. The late-breaking Phantom Thread also seems like it could make an impact here (as I’m predicting it to in a couple of categories).

Things to look out for: Daniel Day-Lewis is a three-time winner here. Meryl Streep is a three-time winner here. Both are in contention again this year in high-profile films. It would be strange to see both Timothée Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name) and Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird) repeat their NYFCC wins here, which is why I’m splitting it. I’m predicting Chalamet to win but could see James Franco (The Disaster Artist) or Robert Pattinson (Good Time) triumph here. I think Ronan will take a back seat to either Daniela Vega for A Fantastic Woman or Vicky Krieps for Phantom Thread.

With Tiffany Haddish’s win from New York for Girls Trip, the floodgates could be open for her but I’m hedging that bet just a bit. I can absolutely see it happening but with competition from Allison Janney (I, Tonya), NYFCC winner Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird), Hong Chau (Downsizing) and Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) it’s going to be a close race.

With LA including more technical categories (like Production Design, Editing, and Score) we could see things start to take shape in those Oscar categories. Blade Runner 2049, The Shape of Water, Dunkirk and Get Out all stand good chances at these.

LAFCA also gives out awards for New Generation (usually a first-time director, of which there are many contenders this year), The Douglas Edwards Award for Independent/Experiment Film/Video, and Special Citations.

This year’s Career Achievement Award will be presented to Shirley MacLaine.

Here are my official predictions (with alternates) for the 2017 Los Angeles Film Critics Association awards.

Best Picture
Winner: Get Out
Alternate: Call Me By Your Name

Best Director
Winner: Jordan Peele, Get Out
Alternate: Luca Guadagnino, Call Me By Your Name

Best Actor
Winner: Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name
Alternate: James Franco, The Disaster Artist

Best Actress
Winner: Daniela Vega, A Fantastic Woman
Alternate: Vicky Krieps, Phantom Thread

Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
Alternate: Benny Safdie, Good Time

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Allison Janney, I, Tonya
Alternate: Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip

Best Screenplay
Winner: Get Out
Alternate: Lady Bird

Best Cinematography
Winner: Blade Runner 2049
Alternate: Call Me By Your Name

Best Production Design
Winner: Blade Runner 2049
Alternate: Phantom Thread

Best Editing
Winner: Get Out
Alternate: Baby Driver

Best Music Score
Winner: Phantom Thread
Alternate: Good Time

Best Foreign-Language Film
Winner: The Square
Alternate: A Fantastic Woman

Best Documentary/Non-Fiction Film
Winner: Faces Places
Alternate: Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992

Best Animation
Winner: Coco
Alternate: The Breadwinner

Founded in 1975, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is comprised of Los Angeles-based, professional film critics working in the Los Angeles print and electronic media.

Each December, LAFCA members vote on the year’s Achievement Awards, honoring screen excellence on both sides of the camera. Plaques of recognition are presented to winners during LAFCA’s annual ceremony, held in mid-January.

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

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