National Board of Review (NBR) winners: ‘Licorice Pizza,’ ‘Tragedy of Macbeth,’ Rachel Zegler
Licorice Pizza, Paul Thomas Anderson’s ode to 1970s crushes and and Southern California was named Best Film by the National Board of Review today, where Anderson also picked up Best Director and stars Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim shared the Breakthrough Performance award.
The Tragedy of Macbeth and King Richard were double winners with Joel Coen taking adapted screenplay for the Shakespeare adaptation and Bruno Delbonnel winning for his stark black and white cinematography. The film also landed on the group’s top 10 list. King Richard won two major acting prizes, for Will Smith in Best Actor and Aunjanue Ellis in Supporting Actress, as well as a top 10 film placement. Very late-breaker West Side Story earned newcomer Rachel Zegler the Best Actress win. At 20 years of age, Zegler is the youngest NBR Best Actress winner in their history. Belfast‘s Ciarán Hinds was named Best Supporting Actor. A Hero was another double winner, as Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Screenplay for director Asghar Farhadi.
Here is the complete list of National Board of Review (NBR) winners for 2021. The org’s awards gala, originally set for January 11, is now scheduled to take place on March 15.
- Best Film: LICORICE PIZZA
- Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, LICORICE PIZZA
- Best Actor: Will Smith, KING RICHARD
- Best Actress: Rachel Zegler, WEST SIDE STORY
- Best Supporting Actor: Ciarán Hinds, BELFAST
- Best Supporting Actress: Aunjanue Ellis, KING RICHARD
- Best Original Screenplay: Asghar Farhadi, A HERO
- Best Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
- Breakthrough Performance: Alana Haim & Cooper Hoffman, LICORICE PIZZA
- Best Directorial Debut: Michael Sarnoski, PIG
- Best Animated Feature: ENCANTO
- Best Foreign Language Film: A HERO
- Best Documentary: SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)
- Best Ensemble: THE HARDER THEY FALL
- Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Bruno Delbonnel, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
- NBR Freedom of Expression Award: FLEE
Top Films (in alphabetical order)
Belfast
Don’t Look Up
Dune
King Richard
The Last Duel
Nightmare Alley
Red Rocket
The Tragedy of Macbeth
West Side Story
Top 5 Foreign Language Films (in alphabetical order)
Benedetta
Lamb
Lingui, The Sacred Bonds
Titane
The Worst Person in the World
Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order)
Ascension
Attica
Flee
The Rescue
Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order)
The Card Counter
C’mon C’mon
CODA
The Green Knight
Holler
Jockey
Old Henry
Pig
Shiva Baby
The Souvenir Part II
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), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) 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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