Seattle, Central Ohio and Online Film Critics Society Pick Best of the Year

More critics! Seattle, Central Ohio and the Online Film Critics Society showed much love for Moonlight and really didn't vary their choices too much. Thankfully, the critics part of the race is almost coming to a close.

SEATTLE

'Doctor Strange' visual effects win with Seattle critics

'Doctor Strange' visual effects win with Seattle critics

  • Visual Effects: (tie) Arrival & Doctor Strange
  • Production Design: The Handmaiden
  • Original Score: Arrival
  • Editing: Moonlight
  • Cinematography: Arrival
  • Costumes: The Handmaiden
  • Ensemble: Moonlight 
  • Animated: Zootopia 
  • Foreign Language Film: Elle 
  • Documentary: OJ Made in America 
  • Screenplay: Moonlight 
  • Director: Barry Jenkins - Moonlight 
  • Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali - Moonlight
  • Supporting Actress: Viola Davis - Fences
  • Actor: Casey Affleck - Manchester by the Sea 
  • Actress: Isabelle Huppert - Elle
  • Picture: Moonlight

Isabelle Huppert is barely edging out Natalie Portman in the Best Actress race in critics prizes, even as she seems to be losing steam and may miss out on that Oscar nom. Hope not, but the voting for nominations started today, so we'll see what happens.

CENTRAL OHIO

Denzel wins another Best Actor award

Denzel wins another Best Actor award

  • Best Film: La La Land
  • Best Director: Damien Chazelle - (La La Land)
  • Best Actor: Denzel Washington - (Fences)
  • Best Actress: Rebecca Hall - (Christine)
  • Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali - (Moonlight)
  • Best Supporting Actress: Lily Gladstone - (Certain Women)
  • Best Ensemble: Moonlight
  • Best Cinematography: La La Land
  • Best Film Editing: La La Land
  • Best Adapted Screenplay: Moonlight
  • Best Original Screenplay: Hell or High Water
  • Best Score: La La Land
  • Best Documentary: O.J.: Made in America
  • Best Foreign Language Film: Toni Erdmann
  • Best Animated Film: Kubo and the Two Strings

These guys went against the grain in acting, choosing Denzel Washington and Rebecca Hall instead of Casey Affleck and one of the more familiar names in Actress. 

ONLINE FILM CRITICS SOCIETY

'Moonlight's Naomie Harris wins a supporting actress prize

'Moonlight's Naomie Harris wins a supporting actress prize

  • Picture: Moonlight
  • Animated: Kubo and the Two Strings
  • Director: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
  • Actor: Casey Affleck, Manchester By the Sea
  • Actress: Natalie Portman, Jackie
  • Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
  • Supporting Actress: Naomie Harris, Moonlight
  • Original Screenplay: Hell or High Water
  • Adapted Screenplay: Arrival
  • Editing: La La Land
  • Cinematography: La La Land
  • Foreign Language Film: The Handmaiden
  • Documentary: OJ: Made in America

Moonlight prevailed with the OFCS, while they at least went for Naomie Harris in supporting over Viola Davis. 

'Deadpool' Lands a WGA Nomination

The Writers Guild is the least important guild, since so many of the inevitable nominees were never eligible, and in the case of this year, two are eligible only in the other category from which they were considered by the WGA. But you can kinda suss things out if you try, so let's look at what ended up in the nominations that came down this morning.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

'Loving' is nominated for original screenplay at WGA, but is only eligible for the packed adapted category at the Oscars

'Loving' is nominated for original screenplay at WGA, but is only eligible for the packed adapted category at the Oscars

  • Hell or High Water
  • La La Land
  • Loving
  • Manchester By the Sea
  • Moonlight

Okay, so here's the thing. Both Loving and Moonlight are only eligible at the Oscars in the adapted screenplay category, so that leaves two open slots right there. The other three are virtual locks, as they have been performing well all season and are guaranteed Best Picture nominees, so this leaves the open slots to be filled with several different options. We've got Jackie, Toni Erdmann, 20th Century Women, The Lobster and Zootopia as the most likely candidates. I'll go ahead and predict The Lobster and Zootopia. It's a shot in the dark, but The Lobster has been singled out by critics for its very original screenplay for months, and popular animated films have a long history of making it in for screenplay when acclaimed enough, even though it's always been a slot reserved for Pixar only (with the exception of the original Shrek way back in 2001). But I think with the love shown for Zootopia this year, and especially its clever screenplay, this could be Disney's first nod in the category.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Can 'Deadpool' get a surprise Oscar nod for screenplay?

Can 'Deadpool' get a surprise Oscar nod for screenplay?

  • Arrival
  • Deadpool
  • Fences
  • Hidden Figures
  • Nocturnal Animals

First off, we've got to make way for Moonlight here, so that knocks off Nocturnal Animals for sure. And some would say Deadpool's an obvious non-starter as well, but I'm not so sure about that. It would be a surprise, yes, but this nomination coupled with the ACE nod yesterday, and the movie's starting to look pretty strong. If it gets a PGA nomination, I'd stick with it to land a surprise screenplay nod at the Oscars as well. But of course, a superhero movie is always a long shot, so other options would be Loving, Silence, and perhaps Sully. But I'm not sure any of those movies have the enthusiasm or passion needed to get in, so don't count Deadpool out on this one.

More Critics Awards for 'La La Land,' 'Moonlight'

They were all coming like crazy for a few weeks and then suddenly they took a breather, but the critics aren't quite done yet, with at least a few more organizations to come. Today we've got two from Texas weighing in, along with North Carolina and Oklahoma.

NORTH TEXAS

Michael Shannon picks up a surprise supporting actor prize for 'Nocturnal Animals'

Michael Shannon picks up a surprise supporting actor prize for 'Nocturnal Animals'

  • Best Film: La La Land
  • Best Director: Damian Chazelle, La La Land
  • Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Jackie
  • Best Actor: Casey Affleck, Manchester By the Sea
  • Best Supporting Actress: Michelle Williams, Manchester By the Sea
  • Best Supporting Actor: Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals
  • Best Cinematography: La La Land
  • Best Animated Film: Zootopia
  • Best Documentary: Gleason
  • Best Foreign Language Film: Elle

What I find odd about these is their lack of screenplay awards- why is cinematography literally the only tech category given out? That's weird, but their choices are conventional down the line, except for Michael Shannon in supporting, for a movie that's not getting a whole lot of attention otherwise.

AUSTIN

'Kubo' wins another animated film award, but still sits behind 'Zootopia'

'Kubo' wins another animated film award, but still sits behind 'Zootopia'

  • Best Film: Moonlight 
  • Best Director: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight 
  • Best Actor: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea 
  • Best Actress: Isabelle Huppert, Elle 
  • Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight 
  • Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis, Fences 
  • Best Original Screenplay: Moonlight 
  • Best Adapted Screenplay: Arrival 
  • Best Cinematography: La La Land 
  • Best Score: La La Land 
  • Best Foreign-Language Film: The Handmaiden 
  • Best Documentary: Tower 
  • Best Animated Film: Kubo and the Two Strings 
  • Best First Film: The Witch

The Austin critics don't do anything worth noting here, with more of the expected Moonlight love, and Kubo stays in second behind Zootopia for animated film.

NORTH CAROLINA

Emma Stone adds to her mini-momentum with later critics groups

Emma Stone adds to her mini-momentum with later critics groups

  • BEST FILM: La La Land
  • BEST DOCUMENTARY: O.J.: Made in America
  • BEST ANIMATED FILM: Zootopia
  • BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: The Handmaiden
  • BEST DIRECTOR: Damien Chazelle — La La Land
  • BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: La La Land
  • BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS: Doctor Strange
  • BEST ACTOR: Casey Affleck — Manchester by the Sea
  • BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Jeff Bridges — Hell or High Water
  • BEST ACTRESS: Emma Stone — La La Land
  • BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Viola Davis — Fences
  • BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Hell or High Water
  • BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Arrival

North Carolina added to Emma Stone's late breaking Best Actress haul, an award I believe will come down to SAG in the Oscar race, while going for the expected winners elsewhere.

OKLAHOMA

Actress prizes split up again, with these 4 critics groups going for Huppert, Portman, Stone and Adams

Actress prizes split up again, with these 4 critics groups going for Huppert, Portman, Stone and Adams

  • Film - La La Land
  • Actress - Amy Adams (Arrival)
  • Actor - Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
  • Supporting Actress - Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)
  • Supporting Actor - Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) 
  • Director - Damien Chazelle (La La Land) 
  • Animated film - Zootopia
  • Documentary - OJ: Made in America
  • Foreign film - The Handmaiden
  • Ensemble - Manchester by the Sea
  • First Feature - The Witch
  • Original screenplay - Manchester by the Sea
  • Adapted Screenplay - Arrival
  • Body of Work - Amy Adams 

And the OK critics spread the wealth, giving a big appreciation for Amy Adams in Best Actress, while Arrival picked up a few adapted screenplay prizes at all these groups.

Debbie Reynolds 1932-2016

And just like that, 32 hours after her daughter's death, Debbie Reynolds has died at the age of 84. The stress of her daughter Carrie's death was too much for her, as she had had several strokes in recent years, and according to her son Todd, her last words were "I want to be with Carrie." Debbie Reynolds was a Hollywood icon who starred as the ingenue in many films from the 1950's, most famously Singin' in the Rain at the age of 19, then How the West Was Won, The Unsinkable Molly Brown (for which she was Oscar-nominated for Best Actress), The Singing Nun, Divorce, American Style, the voice of Charlotte in the animated Charlotte's Web, Mother and In & Out. She was known as Hollywood's original "sweetheart," earning the title for her sunny disposition and the famous tabloid scandal that saw her be left by her husband Eddie Fisher for Elizabeth Taylor in 1959. A singer, dancer, and actress, Reynolds was a true performer who was known for her stage, film and television work over the years, she was nominated for an Oscar, an Emmy (for playing Debra Messing's mother on Will & Grace from 1999-2006) and a Tony (for the 1973 musical Irene), her hand and footprints are preserved at Graumann's Chinese Theatre, and she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from SAG in 2014 and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from AMPAS in 2015. This holiday has left the family with unimaginable grief, as Billie Lourd has lost her mother and grandmother, and Todd Fisher his mother and sister in just two days.

The famous scene from 1952's Singin' in the Rain, where Debbie holds her own against two of the greatest dancers to ever appear in film:

Carrie and Debbie's interview with Oprah in 2011:

Carrie Fisher 1956-2016

A pop culture icon, an actress, a writer and a comedienne- Carrie Fisher was a true original. She died on Tuesday at the age of 60, after suffering a massive heart attack on a plane returning to LAX from London and spending three days in the hospital in intensive care. This shocking death was another in a long list of Hollywood icons taken from us in 2016, and one of the most heart wrenching. Carrie was the daughter of Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, who grew up in Tinseltown before landing the role she would forever be fused with in 1977 as Princess Leia, the sci-fi heroine for generations of moviegoers to come. The original Star Wars trilogy made her eternally a part of pop culture and movie history, and it was a role she reprised just last year in The Force Awakens (and is set to do in next year's untitled Episode VIII, for which her scenes are already wrapped).

We may all remember her as the fierce and feisty Leia, but she had other performances in her filmography, including parts in Shampoo (see her hold her own against Warren Beatty as a mere teenager), When Harry Met Sally (Jess and Marie forever!), and The Blues Brothers (one of the funniest cameos ever). She made countless guest appearances on television shows over the years, which included her hilarious most recent role as Rob Delaney's mother on Catastrophe, on which she had just returned from filming the upcoming third season (a must-see for everyone). Fisher was also a prolific writer who published several novels, including Postcards From the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay for the 1991 Meryl Streep starring film, which was based on the real life relationship between her and her mother Debbie Reynolds. Other published works included memoirs like the just released The Princess Diarist, and the play for her one woman show Wishful Drinking. A rare wit and a dear friend to all who worked with and knew her over the years, she will be missed. May the Force be with her.

In 1989's When Harry Met Sally, which I'm sure many will be watching this New Year's Eve:

Her roast of George Lucas at his AFI Lifetime Achievement Award win in 2009:

Carrie's original audition for Star Wars at age 18: