Movie awards season kicks into higher gear
Nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards and winners of the National Board of Review awards were announced last week, officially kicking into higher gear what’s sure to be a strange (and much longer than usual) movie awards season.
The teen abortion drama “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” (available on HBO Max) led the Spirit Awards, which honors films made for less than $22.5 million (which is considered low budget), with seven nominations, including best feature.
“Minari” (in select theaters Feb. 12), about a Korean family that starts a farm in 1980s Arkansas, followed with six nominations, while “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (now on Netflix) and “Nomadland” (in select theaters Feb. 19 with a simultaneous day-one Hulu release) each picked up five nominations. The Independent Spirit Awards will be held April 24.
The National Board of Review selected Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods” (now on Netflix) as its best film of 2020, with Lee winning best director. The cast was named best ensemble, while Chadwick Boseman was posthumously honored with the NBR Icon Award.
“Da 5 Bloods” follows four African-American vets who return to Vietnam seeking the remains of their fallen squad leader and the gold fortune he helped them hide.
NBR’s lead acting awards went to Riz Ahmed (”Sound of Metal,” on Amazon Prime) and Carey Mulligan (”Promising Young Woman,” available to rent on major streaming services).
Supporting honors went to “Sound of Metal’s” Paul Raci and Youn Yuh-jun for “Minari.”
The NBR group also annually releases its lists of top films in several categories (good for handicapping those Oscar nomination bets). (All lists are in alphabetical order.)
Top Films
“First Cow”“
The Forty-Year-Old Version”
“Judas and the Black Messiah”
“The Midnight Sky”
“Minari”
“News of the World”
“Nomadland”
“Promising Young Woman”
“Soul”
“Sound of Metal”
Documentaries
“All In: The Fight for Democracy”
“Boys State”
“Dick Johnson is Dead”
“Miss Americana”
“The Truffle Hunters”
Independent films
“The Climb”“Driveways”
“Farewell Amor”
“Miss Juneteenth”
“The Nest”
“Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
“The Outpost”
“Relic”
“Saint Frances”
“Wolfwalkers”
Other upcoming awards
In the wake of the pandemic, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which hosts the Oscars, extended the eligibility period for a film from Dec. 31, 2020, to Feb. 28. The Oscars will be held April 25.
Other awards shows followed suit, and set dates backwards from there. Here are some other notable awards dates: Wednesday, Feb. 3 — Golden Globe nominations; Thursday, Feb. 4 — Screen Actors Guild awards nominations; Feb. 26 — American Film Institute Awards; Feb. 28 — Golden Globe awards; March 14 — Screen Actors Guild Awards; March 15 — Academy Award Nominations.
Settle in. It’s gonna be a loooong awards season. One that no one knows how it will look or unfold. Get those virtual speeches ready, people, just in case.