Oppenheimer led the winners in the film categories with eight awards including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Robert Downey Jr., Best Acting Ensemble, and Best Director for Christopher Nolan. Barbie won six awards, including Best Original Screenplay – Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach, Best Comedy, and Best Song “I’m Just Ken”. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was named Best Animated Feature.
Also presented during the ceremony were the Career Achievement Award to Harrison Ford and this year’s SeeHer Award to America Ferrera. The SeeHer Award honors a woman who advocates for gender equality, portrays characters with authenticity, defies stereotypes and pushes boundaries.
The Critics Choice Association is the largest critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing more than 600 media critics and entertainment journalists.
FILM WINNERS
BEST PICTURE
Oppenheimer
BEST ACTOR
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
BEST ACTRESS
Emma Stone – Poor Things
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Oppenheimer
BEST DIRECTOR
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach – Barbie
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Cord Jefferson – American Fiction
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Hoyte van Hoytema – Oppenheimer
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer – Barbie
BEST EDITING
Jennifer Lame – Oppenheimer
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Jacqueline Durran – Barbie
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Barbie
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Oppenheimer
BEST COMEDY
Barbie
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Anatomy of a Fall
BEST SONG
“I’m Just Ken” – Barbie
BEST SCORE
Ludwig Göransson – Oppenheimer
TELEVISION WINNERS
BEST DRAMA SERIES
Succession (HBO | Max)
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Kieran Culkin – Succession (HBO | Max)
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sarah Snook – Succession (HBO | Max)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Billy Crudup – The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Elizabeth Debicki – The Crown (Netflix)
BEST COMEDY SERIES
The Bear (FX)
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jeremy Allen White – The Bear (FX)
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ayo Edebiri – The Bear (FX)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ebon Moss-Bachrach – The Bear (FX)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Meryl Streep – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
BEST LIMITED SERIES
Beef (Netflix)
BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Quiz Lady (Hulu)
BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Steven Yeun – Beef (Netflix)
BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Ali Wong – Beef (Netflix)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Jonathan Bailey – Fellow Travelers (Showtime)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
The Critics Choice Association (CCA) has announced the film category nominees for the 29th Annual Critics Choice Awards.
Barbie is outrunning the field with 18, with mentions for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, and five acting nominations, including stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling who received two each.
Oppenheimer has 13 nominations.
Other films of genre interest receiving nominations are Wonka, The Creator, Asteroid City, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Boy and the Heron, Elemental, Nimona, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Wish, Godzilla Minus One, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
The winners will be revealed in a ceremony airing Sunday, January 14, 2024.
FILM NOMINATIONS FOR THE 29TH ANNUAL CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS
BEST PICTURE
American Fiction
Barbie
The Color Purple
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
Saltburn
BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Leonardo DiCaprio – Killers of the Flower Moon
Colman Domingo – Rustin
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction
BEST ACTRESS
Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Carey Mulligan – Maestro
Margot Robbie – Barbie
Emma Stone – Poor Things
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction
Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling – Barbie
Charles Melton – May December
Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple
America Ferrera – Barbie
Jodie Foster – Nyad
Julianne Moore – May December
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Abby Ryder Fortson – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Ariana Greenblatt – Barbie
Calah Lane – Wonka
Milo Machado Graner – Anatomy of a Fall
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers
Madeleine Yuna Voyles – The Creator
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Air
Barbie
The Color Purple
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
BEST DIRECTOR
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Greta Gerwig – Barbie
Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Alexander Payne – The Holdovers
Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Samy Burch – May December
Alex Convery – Air
Bradley Cooper & Josh Singer – Maestro
Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach – Barbie
David Hemingson – The Holdovers
Celine Song – Past Lives
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Kelly Fremon Craig – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Andrew Haigh – All of Us Strangers
Cord Jefferson – American Fiction
Tony McNamara – Poor Things
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Eric Roth & Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Matthew Libatique – Maestro
Rodrigo Prieto – Barbie
Rodrigo Prieto – Killers of the Flower Moon
Robbie Ryan – Poor Things
Linus Sandgren – Saltburn
Hoyte van Hoytema – Oppenheimer
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Suzie Davies, Charlotte Dirickx – Saltburn
Ruth De Jong, Claire Kaufman – Oppenheimer
Jack Fisk, Adam Willis – Killers of the Flower Moon
Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer – Barbie
James Price, Shona Heath, Szusza Mihalek – Poor Things
Adam Stockhausen, Kris Moran – Asteroid City
BEST EDITING
William Goldenberg – Air
Nick Houy – Barbie
Jennifer Lame – Oppenheimer
Yorgos Mavropsaridis – Poor Things
Thelma Schoonmaker – Killers of the Flower Moon
Michelle Tesoro – Maestro
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Jacqueline Durran – Barbie
Lindy Hemming – Wonka
Francine Jamison-Tanchuck – The Color Purple
Holly Waddington – Poor Things
Jacqueline West – Killers of the Flower Moon
Janty Yates, David Crossman – Napoleon
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Barbie
The Color Purple
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Priscilla
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Creator
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
BEST COMEDY
American Fiction
Barbie
Bottoms
The Holdovers
No Hard Feelings
Poor Things
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Nimona
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Wish
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Anatomy of a Fall
Godzilla Minus One
Perfect Days
Society of the Snow
The Taste of Things
The Zone of Interest
BEST SONG
“Dance the Night” – Barbie
“I’m Just Ken” – Barbie
“Peaches” – The Super Mario Bros. Movie
“Road to Freedom” – Rustin
“This Wish” – Wish
“What Was I Made For” – Barbie
BEST SCORE
Jerskin Fendrix – Poor Things
Michael Giacchino – Society of the Snow
Ludwig Göransson – Oppenheimer
Daniel Pemberton – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Critics Choice Association (CCA) unveiled the television nominees for its 2024 Critics Choice Awards on December 5.
Sff programs up for Best Drama Series are The Last of Us (HBO | Max), Loki (Disney+), and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+). What We Do In The Shadows is up for Best Comedy.
Loki has the most nominations of any genre show with four.
Nominations for the Critics Choice film categories will be announced on December 13. The awards will be presented on January 14.
The full list of TV nominees follows.
BEST DRAMA SERIES
The Crown (Netflix)
The Diplomat (Netflix)
The Last of Us (HBO | Max)
Loki (Disney+)
The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+)
Succession (HBO | Max)
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (HBO | Max)
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Kieran Culkin – Succession (HBO | Max)
Tom Hiddleston – Loki (Disney+)
Timothy Olyphant – Justified: City Primeval (FX)
Pedro Pascal – The Last of Us (HBO | Max)
Ramón Rodríguez – Will Trent (ABC)
Jeremy Strong – Succession (HBO | Max)
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jennifer Aniston – The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
Aunjanue Ellis – Justified: City Primeval (FX)
Bella Ramsey – The Last of Us (HBO | Max)
Keri Russell – The Diplomat (Netflix)
Sarah Snook – Succession (HBO | Max)
Reese Witherspoon – The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Khalid Abdalla – The Crown (Netflix)
Billy Crudup – The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
Ron Cephas Jones – Truth Be Told (Apple TV+)
Matthew MacFadyen – Succession (HBO | Max)
Ke Huy Quan – Loki (Disney+)
Rufus Sewell – The Diplomat (Netflix)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Nicole Beharie – The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
Elizabeth Debicki – The Crown (Netflix)
Sophia Di Martino – Loki (Disney+)
Celia Rose Gooding – Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+)
Karen Pittman – The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
Christina Ricci – Yellowjackets (Showtime)
BEST COMEDY SERIES
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Barry (HBO | Max)
The Bear (FX)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video)
Poker Face (Peacock)
Reservation Dogs (FX)
Shrinking (Apple TV+)
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Bill Hader – Barry (HBO | Max)
Steve Martin – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Kayvan Novak – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Drew Tarver – The Other Two (HBO | Max)
Jeremy Allen White – The Bear (FX)
D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai – Reservation Dogs (FX)
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Rachel Brosnahan – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video)
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Ayo Edebiri – The Bear (FX)
Bridget Everett – Somebody Somewhere (HBO | Max)
Devery Jacobs – Reservation Dogs (FX)
Natasha Lyonne – Poker Face (Peacock)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Phil Dunster – Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Harrison Ford – Shrinking (Apple TV+)
Harvey Guillén – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
James Marsden – Jury Duty (Amazon Freevee)
Ebon Moss-Bachrach – The Bear (FX)
Henry Winkler – Barry (HBO | Max)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Paulina Alexis – Reservation Dogs (FX)
Alex Borstein – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video)
Janelle James – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Sheryl Lee Ralph – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Meryl Streep – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Jessica Williams – Shrinking (Apple TV+)
BEST LIMITED SERIES
Beef (Netflix)
Daisy Jones & the Six (Prime Video)
Fargo (FX)
Fellow Travelers (Showtime)
Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV+)
Love & Death (HBO | Max)
A Murder at the End of the World (FX)
A Small Light (National Geographic)
BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (Showtime)
Finestkind (Paramount+)
Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie (Peacock)
No One Will Save You (Hulu)
Quiz Lady (Hulu)
Reality (HBO | Max)
BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Matt Bomer – Fellow Travelers (Showtime)
Tom Holland – The Crowded Room (Apple TV+)
David Oyelowo – Lawmen: Bass Reeves (Paramount+)
Tony Shalhoub – Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie (Peacock)
Kiefer Sutherland – The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (Showtime)
Steven Yeun – Beef (Netflix)
BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Kaitlyn Dever – No One Will Save You (Hulu)
Brie Larson – Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV+)
Bel Powley – A Small Light (National Geographic)
Sydney Sweeney – Reality (HBO | Max)
Juno Temple – Fargo (FX)
Ali Wong – Beef (Netflix)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Jonathan Bailey – Fellow Travelers (Showtime)
Taylor Kitsch – Painkiller (Netflix)
Jesse Plemons – Love & Death (HBO | Max)
Lewis Pullman – Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV+)
Liev Schreiber – A Small Light (National Geographic)
Justin Theroux – White House Plumbers (HBO | Max)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Maria Bello – Beef (Netflix)
Billie Boullet – A Small Light (National Geographic)
Willa Fitzgerald – The Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix)
Aja Naomi King – Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV+)
Mary McDonnell – The Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix)
Camila Morrone – Daisy Jones & the Six (Prime Video)
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE SERIES
Bargain (Paramount+)
The Glory (Netflix)
The Good Mothers (Hulu)
The Interpreter of Silence (Hulu)
Lupin (Netflix)
Mask Girl (Netflix)
Moving (Hulu)
BEST ANIMATED SERIES
Bluey (Disney+)
Bob’s Burgers (Fox)
Harley Quinn (HBO | Max)
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (Netflix)
Star Trek: Lower Decks (Paramount+)
Young Love (HBO | Max)
BEST TALK SHOW
The Graham Norton Show (BBC America)
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBC)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO | Max)
Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
BEST COMEDY SPECIAL
Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool (Netflix)
Alex Borstein: Corsets & Clown Suits (Prime Video)
Stephen Colbert is joining the team that is adapting Roger Zelazny’s “The Chronicles of Amber” for television [under his Spartina production banner].
… “George R.R. Martin and I have similar dreams,” Colbert said. “I’ve carried the story of Corwin in my head for over 40 years, and I’m thrilled to partner with Skybound and Vincent Newman to bring these worlds to life. All roads lead to Amber, and I’m happy to be walking them.”
“The Chronicles of Amber” follows the story of Corwin, who is said to “awaken on Earth with no memory, but soon finds he is a prince of a royal family that has the ability to travel through different dimensions of reality (called ‘shadows’) and rules over the one true world, Amber.”…
(2) MORE LORE. Season 3 of The Mandalorian airs 3 March 1 on Disney+.
The journeys of the Mandalorian through the Star Wars galaxy continue. Once a lone bounty hunter, Din Djarin has reunited with Grogu. Meanwhile, the New Republic struggles to lead the galaxy away from its dark history. The Mandalorian will cross paths with old allies and make new enemies as he and Grogu continue their journey together.
…A fourth season of the series is already in development, whilst this arrives ahead of both “Star Wars: Ahsoka” and “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew”, both due to arrive on the Disney+ service later this year. Filming on “Star Wars: The Acolyte” and a second season of “Star Wars: Andor” are both underway in the UK at present….
(3) SIMULTANEOUS TIMES. Simultaneous Times SF podcast episode 59 has been released. Listen to it here. Stories featured in this episode:
“Three to Go” by Ria Rees. Music by Phog Masheeen. Read by Jean-Paul Garnier
“Ghosts” by Michael Butterworth. Music by Julie Carpenter. Read by the author.
Simultaneous Times is a monthly science fiction podcast produced by Space Cowboy Books in Joshua Tree, CA.
As unionized employees at HarperCollins Publishers prepare to mark their 50th day on strike next week, union representatives announced that a rally is planned outside the publisher’s parent company, News Corp, in Manhattan at 12:30 p.m. on January 18. Since November 10 of last year, labor negotiations between the union and company executives have been stalled, and union representatives are hoping to put pressure on the publisher to return to the bargaining table.
Local 2110 of the UAW represents more than 250 HarperCollins employees in editorial, sales, publicity, design, legal, and marketing departments. Union representatives said negotiations have stalled over higher pay, a greater commitment to diversifying staff, and stronger union protection. Negotiations started in December 2021 and unionized employees have been working without a contract since April 2022….
(5) WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW, THEY SAY. [Item by Bill Higgins.] Kenneth Hite, a Chicago author, game designer, and podcaster, was shot in the leg last week by armed robbers near his Hyde Park home. Fortunately, he’s going to be fine. Furthermore, he sold an account of the experience to the UK magazine The Spectator. Because Ken Hite is a true professional. “Trigger warning: how it feels to get shot”.
… But at 3.10 a.m. on Friday, I was walking home from a late-night writing session at a colleague’s apartment a block from my house. (I work as a games designer.) A car pulled up, and two guys with guns jumped out and aggressively requested my 2014 MacBook Air.
I wish I could say I carefully considered whether my life was worth more than a nine-year-old computer and (more importantly) a manuscript I hadn’t backed up, but I acted without thinking and ran. After six or seven shots, I felt a hard thump on the back of my right calf. Then the two geniuses remembered that stuff about the third-largest armed force in Illinois, jumped back into their car and tore off. I counted my blessings and let myself into my house.
It was then that I noticed an awful lot of blood on the floor around my foot. The gunshots had, it turned out, awakened my wife Sheila, who wondered if I knew what had happened. Suddenly I did. ‘I’ve been shot in the leg,’ I told her. She called 911 and both sets of police – University of Chicago and Chicago Police Department – showed up almost immediately. In between questions, one of the cops put a tourniquet on my leg. I’ve heard since that if the tourniquet doesn’t hurt more than the bullet wound, it’s not on tight enough. This one was on tight enough….
(6) COVID STALKS AWARDS SHOWS. [Item by Mike Kennedy.] Following the Golden Globe Awards, several celebrities (including some particularly big names) tested positive for COVID. Apparently in response, the Critics Choice Awards instituted a COVID test policy. “Several celebrities test positive for COVID after Golden Globes” at ABC News.
In the wake of the Golden Globes last week, several celebrities said they have tested positive for COVID-19.
At least four stars, including Jamie Lee Curtis and Michelle Pfeiffer, revealed they contracted the virus following the awards show.
In response, the Critics Choice Awards, which was held on Sunday, announced that all attendees would be required to submit a negative COVID-19 test before entering the venue, according to Deadline.
Public health experts said the news of actors and actresses falling ill is not surprising due to the relaxed regulations and people gathering indoors.
(7) MEMORY LANE.
1992 — [Compiled by Cat Eldridge.] Mexican food liked you’ve dreamed of
Tonight’s essay concerns Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies. It was published by Doubleday in Mexico in 1992 as Como agua para chocolate. Yes, the English language title is a lot longer.
Perfection Learning published the first edition in 1995. The film actually came out here in 1993 before the book was published here because though shot in Mexico, it had simultaneous English and Spanish language versions.
So let’s talk about the book. And a magical book it is. Even in the English translation! The original Spanish version, Como agua para chocolat, was the top-selling book in Mexico in 1990. As a work of Latin magical realism, it can’t be topped by any other work to date. I unfortunately don’t know Spanish so I read the English translation which is quite excellent.
Now it’s here because a recurring theme of both the book and the film that came out is is food, which is used to represent all aspects of the vibrant, if troubled, Mexican culture. Hardly a scene goes by without someone eating or preparing a meal, and some of the more tasty chapters/scenes involve truly awesome banquets. Both in the book and in the film, there’s a real feeling that food is more than just something one eats. Food here is a celebration of the helix of life and death, of consuming and being consumed.
It’s is possibly the most erotic film ever made. Truly it is. Even the baking of bread becomes an act of eros.
Now here’s an exquisite example of the food scenes herein
She felt so lost and lonely. One last chile in walnut sauce left on the platter after a fancy dinner couldn’t feel any worse than she did. How many times had she eaten one of those treats, standing by herself in the kitchen, rather than let it be thrown away. When nobody eats the last chile on the plate, it’s usually because none of them wants to look like a glutton, so even though they’d really like to devour it, they don’t have the nerve to take it. It was as if they were rejecting that stuffed pepper, which contains every imaginable flavor; sweet as candied citron, juicy as pomegranate, with the bit of pepper and the subtlety of walnuts, that marvelous chile in the walnut sauce. Within it lies the secret of love, but it will never be penetrated, and all because it wouldn’t feel proper.
(8) TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS.
[Compiled by Cat Eldridge.]
Born January 17, 1899 — Nevil Shute. Author of On the Beach. It originally appeared as a four-part series, The Last Days on Earth, in the London weekly Sunday Graphic in April 1957. It was twice a film. He has other SF novels including An Old Captivity which involves time travel and No Highway which gets a review by Pohl in Super Science Stories, April 1949. There’s In the Wet and Vinland the Good as well. (Died 1960.)
Born January 17, 1910 — Carol Hughes. Genre fans will no doubt best recognize her as Dale Arden in Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe from sixty years ago. Other than The Red Dragon, a Charlie Chan film done in the Forties if I remember correctly, I’m not seeing anything that’s even genre adjacent for her though I’m assuming that the Fifties Ghost Buster short she was in should be a genre production. (Died 1995.)
Born January 17, 1927 — Eartha Kitt. Though you’ll have lots of folks remembering her as Catwoman from the original Batman, she appeared in but four episodes there. Genre wise, she was in such series as I-Spy, Mission: Impossible, Matrix, the animated Space Ghost Coast to Coast and the animated My Life as a Teenage Robot. Film wise, she played Freya in Erik the Viking, voiced Bagheera in The Jungle Book: Mowgli’s Story and was Madame Zeroni In Holes.(Died 2008.)
Born January 17, 1931 — James Earl Jones, 92. His first SF appearance was in Dr. Strangelove as Lt. Lothar Zogg. And I think I need not list all his appearances as Darth Vader here. Some genre appearances include Exorcist II: The Heretic, The Flight of Dragons, Conan the Barbarian as Thulsa Doom and I actually remember him in that role, Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold, did you know the 1995 Judge Dredd had a Narrator? Well he’s listed as doing it, and Fantasia 2000 as well. In 2022, his voice was used via software for Darth Vader in the Obi-Wan KenobiDisney+ miniseries. Jones signed a deal with Lucasfilm authorizing archival recordings of his voice to be used in the future to artificially generate the voice of Darth Vader. Jones said later that all Vader voicing would using AI software.
Born January 17, 1935 — Paul O. Williams. A poet won the Astounding Award for Best New Writer in 1983 after publishing The Breaking of Northwall and The Ends of the Circle which are the first two novels of his Pelbar Cycle. I’ve not read these, so be interested in your opinions, of course. (Died 2009.)
Born January 17, 1962 — Jim Carrey, 61. His first genre film is Once Bitten whose content is obvious from its name. The ‘dorable Earth Girls Are Easy was next followed up by Batman Forever in which he played a manic Riddler, then there’s the The Truman Show which stretches genre boundaries I think. May we not talk about How the Grinch Stole Christmas? And is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind genre?, who’s seen Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events?, Horton Hears a Who! (FUN!), A Christmas Carol of which I know nothing, Mr. Popper’s Penguins (well it sounds cute) and, I’m not you, Sonic the Hedgehog. Busy, isn’t he?
Born January 17, 1970 — Genndy Tartakovsky, 53. Like Romulan Ale, animation style is a matter of taste. So while I like his work on Samurai Jack and Star Wars: Clone Wars, I can understand why many SW fans don’t as it’s definitely an acquired taste. He also is responsible for directing the animated Hotel Transylvania franchise.
Last month, a two-person start-up company by the name of Make Sunsets claimed that it had launched weather balloons filled with reflective sulfur particles into the sky somewhere over the coast of Baja California. More provocation than experiment, the launch was a first-of-its-kind field test of a climate intervention known as geoengineering: a branch of speculative technology that promises to counteract and even reverse global warming by altering Earth’s atmosphere.
Long a taboo idea among climate experts thought too dangerous even to research, geoengineering is becoming increasingly mainstream. In 2019, Congress gave the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration $4 million to research techniques like the one Make Sunsets just tested, and it has since drawn interest from the Biden administration.
(10) A CELLER’S MARKET. [Item by Christian Brunschen.] A company literally calling themselves “SciFi Foods” are using CRISPR gene editing to develop “scalable beef cell lines” for cultivation — with the CEO claiming inspiration from Ian M. Banks’ The Player of Games. (They’re by far not the only cultivated-meat company out there of course.) “The first CRISPR gene-edited meat is coming. This is the CEO making sci-fi a reality” at Fast Company.
…Cost parity with traditional meat is every founder’s goal, one that sets a seemingly unattainable target. (In 2022, the average price of ground beef was $4.81/lb.) SciFi is betting that the only way to economically scale cultivated meat is with CRISPR, and that by making iterative tweaks they can create dependable cell lines with rich, meat-y flavor. “We have an eventual target of $1 per burger at commercial scale,” March says.
Once harvested, beef cells will be formulated into a blended burger that is mostly like the plant-based burgers you may already know—soy protein and coconut oil. SciFi’s secret sauce is adding a small percentage of SciFi cells (5% to 20%, according to March) to reward our taste buds with the beef-y notes we may think are missing from competitors like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat. Blood-quickening, salivatory, tempting….
(11) TRIVIAL TRIVIA. The TV adaptation of a Ray Bradbury story, “The Electric Grandmother”, first aired on this day in 1982.
(12) EXTRA CREDIT. Mel Brooks’ History of the World Part 2, “A sequel 40 years in the making.” A four-night event, streaming March 6 on Hulu. John King Tarpinian declares, “I can hardly wait.”
…One of the few R-rated action sci-fi films that’s remembered more for its clever writing than its shootouts. But kids today will never understand the significance of this movie just like my ex-wife will never understand the significance of the John Spartan mannequin I bought from a Planet Hollywood estate sale….
[Thanks to John King Tarpinian, Chris Barkley, Andrew Porter, Christian Brunschen, Bill Higgins, Michael Toman, Cat Eldridge, and Mike Kennedy for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Cat Eldridge.]
The Critics Choice Association (CCA) has announced the film category nominees for the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards and genre films are heavily represented.
Everything Everywhere All at Once leads this year’s film contenders, earning fourteen nominations overall. In addition to Best Picture and Best Comedy nods, the film racked up several acting nominations including Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh and Best Supporting Actor for Ke Huy Quan. Both Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu are up for Best Supporting Actress, and the cast garnered a Best Acting Ensemble nomination. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert earned nods in both the Best Director and Best Original Screenplay categories, while Jason Kisvarday and Kelsi Ephraim were nominated for Best Production Design, along with Paul Rogers for Best Editing, and Shirley Kurata for Best Costume Design. The film was also nominated for Best Hair and Makeup and Best Visual Effects.
Other films of genre interest receiving multiple nominations are Avatar: The Way of Water (6), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (6), The Batman (3), and Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio (3).
There are eleven Best Picture nominees this year due to an exact tie. Additionally, the CCA expanded the Best Director category to include ten nominees. The winners will be revealed on Sunday, January 15, 2023.
FILM NOMINATIONS FOR THE 28TH ANNUAL CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS
BEST PICTURE
Avatar: The Way of Water
Babylon
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
RRR
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick
Women Talking
BEST ACTOR
Austin Butler – Elvis
Tom Cruise – Top Gun: Maverick
Colin Farrell – The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser – The Whale
Paul Mescal – Aftersun
Bill Nighy – Living
BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett – Tár
Viola Davis – The Woman King
Danielle Deadwyler – Till
Margot Robbie – Babylon
Michelle Williams – The Fabelmans
Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All at Once
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Paul Dano – The Fabelmans
Brendan Gleeson – The Banshees of Inisherin
Judd Hirsch – The Fabelmans
Barry Keoghan – The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Brian Tyree Henry – Causeway
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Angela Bassett – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Jessie Buckley – Women Talking
Kerry Condon – The Banshees of Inisherin
Jamie Lee Curtis – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Stephanie Hsu – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Janelle Monáe – Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Frankie Corio – Aftersun
Jalyn Hall – Till
Gabriel LaBelle – The Fabelmans
Bella Ramsey – Catherine Called Birdy
Banks Repeta – Armageddon Time
Sadie Sink – The Whale
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
The Woman King
Women Talking
BEST DIRECTOR
James Cameron – Avatar: The Way of Water
Damien Chazelle – Babylon
Todd Field – Tár
Baz Luhrmann – Elvis
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Martin McDonagh – The Banshees of Inisherin
Sarah Polley – Women Talking
Gina Prince-Bythewood – The Woman King
S. S. Rajamouli – RRR
Steven Spielberg – The Fabelmans
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Todd Field – Tár
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Martin McDonagh – The Banshees of Inisherin
Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner – The Fabelmans
Charlotte Wells – Aftersun
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Samuel D. Hunter – The Whale
Kazuo Ishiguro – Living
Rian Johnson – Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Rebecca Lenkiewicz – She Said
Sarah Polley – Women Talking
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Russell Carpenter – Avatar: The Way of Water
Roger Deakins – Empire of Light
Florian Hoffmeister – Tár
Janusz Kaminski – The Fabelmans
Claudio Miranda – Top Gun: Maverick
Linus Sandgren – Babylon
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Hannah Beachler, Lisa K. Sessions – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Rick Carter, Karen O’Hara – The Fabelmans
Dylan Cole, Ben Procter, Vanessa Cole – Avatar: The Way of Water
Jason Kisvarday, Kelsi Ephraim – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy, Bev Dunn – Elvis
Florencia Martin, Anthony Carlino – Babylon
BEST EDITING
Tom Cross – Babylon
Eddie Hamilton – Top Gun: Maverick
Stephen Rivkin, David Brenner, John Refoua, James Cameron – Avatar: The Way of Water
Paul Rogers – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Matt Villa, Jonathan Redmond – Elvis
Monika Willi – Tár
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Ruth E. Carter – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Jenny Eagan – Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Shirley Kurata – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Catherine Martin – Elvis
Gersha Phillips – The Woman King
Mary Zophres – Babylon
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Babylon
The Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Whale
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Everything Everywhere All at Once
RRR
Top Gun: Maverick
BEST COMEDY
The Banshees of Inisherin
Bros
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Triangle of Sadness
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Turning Red
Wendell & Wild
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
All Quiet on the Western Front
Argentina, 1985
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
Close
Decision to Leave
RRR
BEST SONG
Carolina – Where the Crawdads Sing
Ciao Papa – Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Hold My Hand – Top Gun: Maverick
Lift Me Up – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Naatu Naatu – RRR
New Body Rhumba – White Noise
BEST SCORE
Alexandre Desplat – Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
In the Film division, Dune won Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects, and Best Score. The Mitchells vs. the Machines was named Best Animated Feature.
In the TV division, Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae won Best Actor in a Drama Series, while Squid Game took the award for Foreign Drama Series. Best Animated Series went to What If….
The Critics Choice Association (CCA) has announced the Television and Film nominees for the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards.
HBO’s Succession leads this year’s TV contenders with eight nominations. Belfast and West Side Story lead the film contenders with eleven nominations each.
The works of genre interest that received the most nominations are:
Film
Dune – 10
Don’t Look Up – 6
Nightmare Alley – 8
Television
WandaVision (Disney+) – 4
The Underground Railroad (Amazon Prime Video) – 3
What We Do in the Shadows (FX) – 3
The Critics Choice Association is the largest critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing almost 500 media critics and entertainment journalists.
The full lists of nominees in both divisions follow the jump.
In the film categories three genre productions took awards: Palm Springs for Best Comedy; Tenet for Best Visual Effects; and composers Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste won Best Score for their work on Soul.
There was one genre winner in the television categories: Michael K. Williams from Lovecraft Country won Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
The Critics Choice Association is the largest critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing more than 400 television, radio and online critics and entertainment reporters.
