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Sometimes, it’s worth it to wait. While everyone else is in such a hurry to post their picks and nominees for the best of the year, the Georgia Film Critics Association always takes its time. As a result, many of their nominations, announced today, are distinctly different from other organizations handing out honors for the movies of 2015.
I should say “our” nominations, since I’m one of the 24 critics in the membership of the GAFCA. I love being a part of this group because it is the one that requires my input the latest. That means I have more time before our ballot is due to play catch up, and while I have to admit this year has been difficult for me to do so in general, I still appreciate the extension.
The most notable difference between our awards and those of other groups is the four nominations for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. No, we didn’t name it one of the contenders for best picture – but it is worth comparing the GAFCA’s patience to the criticized decision by the Broadcast Film Critics Association (of which I’m also a member) to retroactively add the Star Wars sequel to its top category, as an 11th nominee, after release.
What, and who, we did recognize from the movie, which certainly doesn’t need our help or any other group’s, is its score by John Williams, its production design/art direction by Rick Carter, Darren Gilford, Alastair Bullock and Gary Tomkins, the performance of its entire cast, who are together nominated for best ensemble, and particularly newcomer Daisy Ridley, who is up for the breakthrough award.
Other films that are getting a more necessary boost from the GAFCA include the documentary Frame by Frame, which was a highlight of the Atlanta Film Festival last year. Also, The Look of Silence, while getting plenty of love in doc categories all around, is nominated by us for best foreign film, too. I’ll personally take some credit for that. Same goes for Rose Byrne being recognized for her hilarious supporting performance in Spy.
We also seem to love Sicario more than other organizations (well, my fellow members do, if I don’t), honoring it with six nominations including best picture. And one of my favorites of the year, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, has mostly been overlooked during awards season in spite of its strong reception at Sundance last year, but we named it one of our 10 best picture contenders. It’s the only title in the category without any other nominations.
Next: Austin Film Critics Love Mad Max, Room and Ex Machina
Not to make it sound like we’re all better than everyone else in terms of racial tolerance, but the GAFCA does appear to be the only group besides the African-American Film Critics Association and the Foundation for the Advancement of African-Americans in Film (who give out the Black Reel Awards) to name Ryan Coogler a best director nominee for Creed (as it turns out, this is the third year in a row we’ve included a black filmmaker in the category). Regardless of race, I really think he deserves recognition for what he did with the Rocky reboot-sequel.
Other fairly unique picks include a best actress nod for Blythe Danner for I’ll See You in My Dreams. She’s one of seven contenders, apparently due to there being multiple ties. Also Jason Segel is up for best actor for his performance in The End of the Tour, somewhat making up for his long-declined Oscar buzz, The Assassin is up for best cinematography, and while Ex Machina helmer Alex Garland was shut out of the best director race, he is in the breakthrough category, alongside his actress, Alicia Vikander.
Below is the full list of GAFCA nominees. The winners will be announced on Friday, at which time I’ll update this post by highlighting the results.
Best Picture
- Brooklyn
- Carol
- Ex Machina
- Inside Out
- Mad Max: Fury Road
- The Martian
- Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
- Room
- Sicario
- Spotlight
Best Director
- Creed — Ryan Coogler
- Mad Max: Fury Road — George Miller
- The Martian — Ridley Scott
- Room — Lenny Abrahamson
- Spotlight — Tom McCarthy
Best Actor
- Matt Damon (The Martian)
- Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
- Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
- Michael B. Jordan (Creed)
- Jason Segel (The End of the Tour)
Best Actress
- Emily Blunt (Sicario)
- Blythe Danner (I’ll See You In My Dreams)
- Brie Larson (Room)
- Rooney Mara (Carol)
- Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)
- Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)
- Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Best Supporting Actor
- Benicio Del Toro (Sicario)
- Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)
- Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)
- Sylvester Stallone (Creed)
- Jacob Tremblay (Room)
Best Supporting Actress
- Elizabeth Banks (Love & Mercy)
- Rose Byrne (Spy)
- Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)
- Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)
- Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)
Best Original Screenplay
- Bridge of Spies – Matt Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
- Ex Machina – Alex Garland
- Inside Out – Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley
- Sicario — Taylor Sheridan
- Spotlight — Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer
Best Adapted Screenplay
- The Big Short – Charles Randolph, Adam McKay
- Brooklyn – Nick Hornby
- The End of the Tour — Donald Margulies
- The Martian — Drew Goddard
- Room – Emma Donoghue
- Steve Jobs — Aaron Sorkin
Best Cinematography
- The Assassin – Ping Bin Lee
- Carol – Edward Lachmann
- Mad Max: Fury Road – John Seale
- The Revenant – Emmanuel Lubezki
- Sicario — Roger Deakins
Best Production Design
- Brooklyn – François Séguin, Irene O’Brien, Robert Parle
- Carol – Judy Becker, Jesse Rosenthal
- Ex Machina – Mark Digby, Katrina Mackay, Denis Schnegg
- Mad Max: Fury Road – Colin Gibson, Shira Hockman, Jacinta Leong
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Rick Carter, Darren Gilford, Alastair Bullock, Gary Tomkins
Best Original Score
- Bridge of Spies – Thomas Newman
- The Hateful Eight — Ennio Morricone
- Mad Max: Fury Road — Junkie XL
- Sicario – Jóhann Jóhannsson
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens – John Williams
Best Original Song
- “I’ll See You in My Dreams” – Keegan DeWitt (I’ll See You in My Dreams)
- “See You Again” – DJ Frank E, Andrew Cedar, Charlie Puth, Wiz Khalifa (Furious 7)
- “Simple Song #3” – David Lang (Youth)
- “So Long” — Leon Bridges (Concussion)
- “Til It Happens to You” – Lady Gaga, Diane Warren (The Hunting Ground)
Best Ensemble
- The Big Short
- Mad Max: Fury Road
- Spotlight
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- Straight Outta Compton
Best Foreign Film
- The Assassin
- Labyrinth of Lies
- The Look of Silence
- Mustang
- Son of Saul
Breakthrough Award
- Abraham Attah (Beasts of No Nation)
- Alex Garland (Ex Machina)
- Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
- Jacob Tremblay (Room)
- Alicia Vikander (Burnt, The Danish Girl, Ex Machina, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)
Best Animated Film
- Anomalisa
- The Good Dinosaur
- Inside Out
- The Peanuts Movie
- Shaun the Sheep Movie
Best Documentary
- Amy
- Best of Enemies
- Finders Keepers
- Frame by Frame
- The Look of Silence
Oglethorpe Award for Excellence in Georgia Cinema
- Ant-Man