'La La Land' leads with 12 nominations at the Critics' Choice Awards

The first wave of awards always come from the critics, and while individual regional groups are instrumental in shaping the Oscar race, the most integral group of all is the Broadcast Film Critics Association. They're the group behind the Critics' Choice Awards, which has now become the first major awards show of the season. The BFCA is a massive organization, and while they don't quite have the influence of the guilds or the Hollywood Foreign Press, the Critics' Choice Awards are still a very big deal. Earlier this week, nominations were announced for the 22nd annual Critics' Choice Awards. Check them out below!

Best Picture


Image courtesy of Lionsgate

Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Lion
Loving
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Sully

Best Actor

Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Joel Edgerton, Loving
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Tom Hanks, Sully
Denzel Washington, Fences

Best Actress


Image courtesy of Fox Searchlight

Amy Adams, Arrival
Annette Bening, 20th Century Women
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Ruth Negga, Loving
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Emma Stone, La La Land

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Ben Foster, Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel, Lion
Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals

Best Supporting Actress


Image courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Viola Davis, Fences
Greta Gerwig, 20th Century Women
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Janelle Monae, Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

Best Young Actor/Actress

Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Alex R. Hibbert, Moonlight
Lewis MacDougall, A Monster Calls
Madina Nalwanga, Queen of Katwe
Sunny Pawar, Lion
Hailee Steinfeld, The Edge of Seventeen

Best Acting Ensemble


Image courtesy of A24

20th Century Women
Fences
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

Best Director

Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
David Mackenzie, Hell or High Water
Denis Villeneuve, Arrival
Denzel Washington, Fences

Best Original Screenplay


Image courtesy of CBS Films

Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou, The Lobster
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Jeff Nichols, Loving
Taylor Sheridan, Hell or High Water

Best Adapted Screenplay

Luke Davies, Lion
Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals
Eric Heisserer, Arrival
Todd Komarnicki, Sully
Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi, Hidden Figures
August Wilson, Fences

Best Cinematography


Image courtesy of Focus Features

Stephane Fontaine, Jackie
James Laxton, Moonlight
Seamus McGarvey, Nocturnal Animals
Linus Sandgren, La La Land
Bradford Young, Arrival

Best Production Design

Arrival
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Jackie
La La Land
Live by Night

Best Editing


Image courtesy of A24

Tom Cross, La La Land
John Gilbert, Hacksaw Ridge
Blu Murray, Sully
Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon, Moonlight
Joe Walker, Arrival

Best Costume Design

Allied
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Jackie
La La Land
Love and Friendship

Best Makeup and Hairstyling


Image courtesy of Lionsgate

Doctor Strange
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Hacksaw Ridge
Jackie
Star Trek Beyond

Best Visual Effects

A Monster Calls
Arrival
Doctor Strange
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The Jungle Book

Best Animated Feature


Image courtesy of Focus Features

Finding Dory
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
The Red Turtle
Trolls
Zootopia

Best Action Movie

Captain America: Civil War
Deadpool
Doctor Strange
Hacksaw Ridge
Jason Bourne

Best Actor in an Action Movie


Image Credit: Coming Soon

Benedict Cumberbatch, Doctor Strange
Matt Damon, Jason Bourne
Chris Evans, Captain America: Civil War
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool

Best Actress in an Action Movie

Gal Gadot, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Scarlett Johansson, Captain America: Civil War
Margot Robbie, Suicide Squad
Tilda Swinton, Doctor Strange

Best Comedy


Central Intelligence
Deadpool
Don't Think Twice
The Edge of Seventeen
Hail, Caesar!
The Nice Guys

Best Actor in a Comedy

Ryan Gosling, The Nice Guys
Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins
Dwayne Johnson, Central Intelligence
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool

Best Actress in a Comedy


Image courtesy of STX Entertainment

Kate Beckinsale, Love & Friendship
Sally Field, Hello, My Name is Doris
Kate McKinnon, Ghostbusters
Hailee Steinfeld, The Edge of Seventeen
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie

10 Cloverfield Lane
Arrival
Doctor Strange
Don't Breathe
Star Trek Beyond
The Witch

Best Foreign Language Film


Image Credit: IMDB

Elle
The Handmaiden
Julieta
Neruda
The Salesman
Toni Erdmann

Best Song

"Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" from La La Land
"Can't Stop the Feeling" from Trolls
"City of Stars" from La La Land
"Drive It Like You Stole It" from Sing Street
"How Far I'll Go" from Moana
"The Rules Don't Apply" from Rules Don't Apply

Best Score


Image courtesy of Lionsgate

Nicholas Britell, Moonlight
Johann Johannsson, Arrival
Justin Hurwitz, La La Land
Mica Levi, Jackie
Dustin O'Halloran, Hauschka, Lion

There are simply too many categories here for me to react to everything that the BFCA chose, and there are a few nominees that will have no bearing on the Oscar race at all. The individual categories for Comedy, Sci-Fi/Horror, and Action feel kinda pointless, even though they do recognize great films like 10 Cloverfield Lane, Captain America: Civil War, and Don't Breathe. La La Land led with 12 nominations, which puts it at the forefront of the race. Arrival and Moonlight also received 10 nominations, while Manchester by the Sea earned 8 nominations. This is a nice boost for Arrival, a film that has been on the cusp of the Oscar race for the last several weeks. La La Land and Moonlight are already our two major leaders in the race, so their presence here isn't all that surprising. Hacksaw Ridge also had a pretty good showing here, which indicates that big things could be coming for Mel Gibson's directorial comeback. Hell or High Water and Fences were embraced as well, and I think that the 10 movies nominated for Best Picture by this group are the main core that will be competing over the next several weeks (Silence is in there as well, but it didn't screen for the BFCA in time).

The Critics' Choice Awards will be announced on December 11th, with a broadcast on A&E at 8PM EST. I'm betting on a big night for La La Land, but with a crazy few days ahead of us, anything could happen.

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