“La La Land” led all films in nominations for the 22nd Annual Critics’ Choice Awards, which were announced on Thursday morning by the Broadcast Film Critics Association.
Damien Chazelle’s musical picked up 12 nominations from the organization of TV, radio and internet critics, with Denis Villeneuve’s “Arrival” and Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” landing 10 nominations each.
“Manchester by the Sea” scored eight Critics’ Choice Awards nominations, while “Hacksaw Ridge” got seven and “Doctor Strange,” “Fences,” “Hell or High Water,” “Jackie” and “Lion” each had six.
In the Best Picture category, “La La Land,” “Arrival,” “Moonlight,” “Manchester by the Sea,” “Hacksaw Ridge,” “Hell or High Water” and “Lion” were joined by “Fences,” “Loving” and “Sully.”
The BFCA moved the Critics’ Choice Awards voting much earlier this year, making it impossible for the 250-plus members to see films like Martin Scorsese’s “Silence” and Gareth Edwards’ “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” The move was an apparent attempt to increase interest in the awards, which will take place on December 11, and to position them as more of an influencer on later voters, specifically for the Oscars.
But the slate of nominees was a very mainstream one, with relatively few daring choices that might not already be on Oscar voters’ radar. Mel Gibson’s “Hacksaw Ridge” and David Mackenzie’s “Hell or High Water” might have done better than expected, and the Critics’ Choice picks suggested that “Arrival” may be creeping into the top echelon of contenders alongside “La La Land,” “Moonlight,” “Manchester by the Sea” and “Fences,” but otherwise there’s little in the nominations to change the temperature of any contenders or upset any races.
The only “snubs” in the Best Picture category don’t really qualify as snubs: “Hidden Figures” missed a Best Picture nomination and a nod for Taraji P. Henson in the brutally competitive Best Actress race, but it did land three nominations – Best Supporting Actress for Janelle Monae, Best Acting Ensemble and Best Adapted Screenplay.
And while “Jackie” couldn’t crack the best-pic category either, it was recognized in six other categories, including Best Actress for Natalie Portman.
Mild surprises in the acting categories include the fact that none of the powerhouse supporting actor contenders from “Fences” made the cut, though it’s entirely possible that Mykelti Williamson, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Jovan Adepo and Russell Hornsby split the vote. And while Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant were passed over for “Florence Foster Jenkins” in the main acting categories, they got nods in the separate comedy-acting categories.
In a way, the lack of significant omissions was also due to the fact that the Critics’ Choice Awards pick six nominees in each of the main categories, giving them an artificially inflated rate of agreement with the Oscars.
Last year, all eight of the Oscar Best Picture nominees had previously received Critics’ Choice nominations, and “Spotlight” won at both ceremonies. In the acting categories, 19 of the Oscar nominees were also Critics’ Choice Awards nominees, and three of the four winners matched.
The Critics’ Choice Awards announces nominees in 27 different categories, of which 18 are also categories on the Oscars. The rest are devoted to comedies, action and sci-fi films, young actors and ensemble performances.
If you restrict nominations to the 18 categories that correspond to Oscar categories, “La La Land” retains all 12 of its nominations, while “Arrival” claims sole possession of second place with nine nominations and “Moonlight” slips to third place with eight. “Manchester by the Sea” and “Jackie” follow with six each.
The Broadcast Film Critics Association is made up of more than 300 television, radio and online critics. (Full disclosure: I am a voting member.) It is a partner organization to the Broadcast Television Journalists Association, which announced its Critics’ Choice Awards television nominations on November 14.
The Critics’ Choice Awards will take place on Sunday, December 11 at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. It will be hosted by “Silicon Valley” star T.J. Miller and will be broadcast live on A&E at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
The nominees:
BEST PICTURE
“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
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
Viola Davis – “Fences”
Greta Gerwig – “20th Century Women”
Naomie Harris – “Moonlight”
Nicole Kidman – “Lion”
Janelle Monáe – “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
“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
Damien Chazelle – “La La Land”
Barry Jenkins – “Moonlight”
Yorgos Lanthimos/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/Theodore Melfi – “Hidden Figures”
August Wilson – “Fences”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Stéphane Fontaine – “Jackie”
James Laxton – “Moonlight”
Seamus McGarvey – “Nocturnal Animals”
Linus Sandgren – “La La Land”
Bradford Young – “Arrival”
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
“Arrival” – Patrice Vermette, Paul Hotte/André Valade
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” – Stuart Craig/James Hambidge, Anna Pinnock
“Jackie” – Jean Rabasse, Véronique Melery
“La La Land” – David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
“Live by Night” – Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh
BEST EDITING
Tom Cross – “La La Land”
John Gilbert – “Hacksaw Ridge”
Blu Murray – “Sully”
Nat Sanders/Joi McMillon – “Moonlight”
Joe Walker – “Arrival”
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Colleen Atwood – “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”
Consolata Boyle – “Florence Foster Jenkins”
Madeline Fontaine – “Jackie”
Joanna Johnston – “Allied”
Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh – “Love & Friendship”
Mary Zophres – “La La Land”
BEST HAIR & MAKEUP
“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
“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
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
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
“Elle”
“The Handmaiden”
“Julieta”
“Neruda”
“The Salesman”
“Toni Erdmann”
BEST SONG
“Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” – “La La Land”
“Can’t Stop the Feeling” – Trolls
“City of Stars” – “La La Land”
“Drive It Like You Stole It” – “Sing Street”
“How Far I’ll Go” – “Moana”
“The Rules Don’t Apply” – “Rules Don’t Apply”
BEST SCORE
Nicholas Britell – “Moonlight”
Jóhann Jóhannsson – “Arrival”
Justin Hurwitz – “La La Land”
Micachu – “Jackie”
Dustin O’Halloran, Hauschka – “Lion”