Critics Roundup, part 1: San Diego, St. Louis, Detroit
After the announcements in the past week by critics heavyweights NYFCC and LAFCA, the avalanche of smaller critics societies is slowly building. Although we of course respect them all (no, really, we do), most of these are not deemed influential enough to warrant their own posts, so we will sweep the together in small batches. Sometimes these people are in full-on Oscar-prediction mode, sometimes they throw us some curveballs, but in general these groups are good for analyzing trends in critical voting. And for being puzzled at their sometimes odd categories (‘Best Arthouse‘. Really, St. Louis?). And would anyone be nominating Tom Hardy in Locke if he hadn’t won LAFCA?
So without further ado, here is the first roundup, bringing you the results from San Diego, St. Louis, and Detroit. Most noticable thing: these guys really like Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. Since that seems to be doing better than expected everywhere, this is just more indication of that trend.
Now go scroll, scroll, scroll.
SAN DIEGO FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
BEST FILM
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
Selma
The Theory of Everything
BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
David Fincher, Gone Girl
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler
BEST ACTOR
Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Brendan Gleeson, Calvary
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Tom Hardy, Locke
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Hilary Swank, The Homesman
Mia Wasikowska, Tracks
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Riz Ahmed, Nightcrawler
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Carrie Coon, Gone Girl
Keira Knightly, The Imitation Game
Rene Russo, Nightcrawler
Emma Stone, Birdman
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Locke
Nightcrawler
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Fault in Our Stars
Gone Girl
The Theory of Everything
Unbroken
Wild
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Force Majeure
Heli
Ida
Two Days, One Night
Venus in Fur
BEST DOCUMENTARY
CITIZENFOUR
Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me
Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me
Last Days in Vietnam
Life Itself
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The LEGO Movie
The Nut Job
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Force Majeure (Fredrik Wenzel)
Interstellar (Hoyte van Hoytema)
Gone Girl (Jeff Cronenweth)
Nightcrawler (Robert Elswit)
Unbroken (Roger Deakins)
BEST EDITING
Boyhood (Sandra Adair)
Edge of Tomorrow (James Herbert, Laura Jennings)
Gone Girl (Kirk Baxter)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Barney Pilling)
Nightcrawler (John Gilroy)
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pincock)
Into the Woods (Dennis Gassner & Anna Pinnock)
The Theory of Everything (John Paul Kelly)
The Imitation Game (Maria Djurkovic)
Interstellar (Nathan Crowley)
BEST SCORE
Birdman (Antonio Sanchez)
Gone Girl (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Alexandre Desplat)
The Imitation Game (Alexandre Desplat)
Nightcrawler (James Newton Howard)
BEST ENSEMBLE
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
[divider]
ST. LOUIS FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
BEST PICTURE
Birdman
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
David Fincher, Gone Girl
Alejandro Inarritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
BEST ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Tom Hardy, Locke
BEST ACTRESS
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Josh Brolin, Inherent Vice
Tony Revolori, The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Carrie Coon, Gone Girl
Kiera Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Mackenzie Foy, Interstellar
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman
Boyhood
Locke
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
Whiplash
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Gone Girl
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Unbroken
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Interstellar
Nightcrawler
Unbroken
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Birdman
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
Noah
BEST ART DIRECTION
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Mr. Turner
Nightcrawler
Snowpiercer
Under the Skin
BEST MUSIC SCORE
Birdman
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Interstellar
Under the Skin
BEST MUSIC SOUNDTRACK
Begin Again
Boyhood
Get On Up
Guardians of the Galaxy
Into the Woods
Whiplash
BEST FOREIGN FILM
Force Majeure
Gloria
Human Capital
Ida
Two Days, One Night
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Big Hero 6
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie
Penguins of Madagascar
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Citizenfour
Finding Vivian Maier
Jodorowsky’s Dune
Life Itself
Red Army
Rich Hill
BEST COMEDY
22 Jump Street
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
Obvious Child
St. Vincent
BEST ARTHOUSE
Boyhood
Calvary
Frank
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Locke
Whiplash
BEST SCENE
22 Jump Street – End Credits
Birdman – Times Square
Guardians of the Galaxy – Prison Break
Selma – Church Bombing
Whiplash – Finale drum solo
X-Men: Days of Future Past – Quicksilver Pentagon Escape
[divider]
DETROIT FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
BEST FILM
Boyhood
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Under the Skin
Whiplash
BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
Jonathan Glazer, Under the Skin
Ajejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
BEST ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Brendan Gleeson, Calvary
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Tom Hardy, Locke
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
BEST ACTRESS
Essie Davis, The Babadook
Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin, Inherent Vice
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Laura Dern, Wild
Rene Russo, Nightcrawler
Emma Stone, Birdman
Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer
BEST ENSEMBLE
Birdman
Boyhood
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Into the Woods
BREAKTHROUGH
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash (director, screenplay)
Jennifer Kent, The Babadook (director, screenplay)
Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Belle, Beyond the Lights (actress)
Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy (actor)
Dan Stevens, The Guest (actor)
BEST SCREENPLAY
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
Nicolas Giacobone and Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
John Michael McDonagh, Calvary
BEST DOCUMENTARY
CitizenFour
Finding Vivian Maier
Jodorowsky’s Dune
Keep On Keepin’ On
Life Itself
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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