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Time to kick off the annual awards chatter thread. Here are the 15 films announced as having "made the cut" for Academy Award consideration:

March of the Penguins (duh)
Mad Hot Ballroom
After Innocence
The Boys of Baraka
Darwin's Nightmare
The Devil and Daniel Johnston
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Favela Rising
Murderball
Occupation: Dreamland
On Native Soil: The Documentary of the 9/11 Commission Report
Rize
Street Fight
39 Pounds of Love
Unknown White Male

Two of the best documentaries of the year are missing, imo: Grizzly Man and Inside Deep Throat.

matt wrote:The Devil and Daniel Johnston

Big expectations for this with the win @ Sundance. Anyone know if this will see a US release? Appears to be playing festivals only right now.

chaddoli wrote:Two of the best documentaries of the year are missing, imo: Grizzly Man and Inside Deep Throat.

That is puzzling. Could Herzog have pulled Grizzly out of the documentary category so it could be considered for best picture?

I've seen several of the films on the list, and a lot of them are worthwhile on the strength of their subjects rather than examples of great filmmaking in their own right. The highly-praised Rize, for example, is a great subject presented in pretty mediocre fashion.

Grizzly Man is a whole nother kettle of fish: a fantastic subject taken in unexpected directions by great filmmaking. No wonder it's not being considered.

zedz wrote: Grizzly Man is a whole nother kettle of fish: a fantastic subject taken in unexpected directions by great filmmaking. No wonder it's not being considered.

I have yet to see Grizzly Man, but this statement doesn't seem like it could be any more true.

How continually dissapointing.

Here are the 10 animated films that have made the cut for Oscar consideration:

Chicken Little
Gulliver's Travel
Hoodwinked
Howl's Moving Castle
Madagascar
Robots
Steamboy
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
Valiant
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

zedz wrote:Grizzly Man is a whole nother kettle of fish: a fantastic subject taken in unexpected directions by great filmmaking. No wonder it's not being considered.

You're exactly right. [sigh.]

zedz wrote:The highly-praised Rize, for example, is a great subject presented in pretty mediocre fashion.

Grizzly Man is a whole nother kettle of fish: a fantastic subject taken in unexpected directions by great filmmaking. No wonder it's not being considered.

The Oscars have for some time shown a tendency to prioritize subject matter, and not only in documentaries.

Well, at least, "Darwin's Nightmare" is in the running. To me that film was just as much a masterpiece of filmmaking as "Grizzly Man" just in a different way. A wonderfully pointed-yet-lyrical film.

Independent Spirit Awards

Nominations: November 29, 2005

BEST FEATURE
Brokeback Mountain Producers: Diana Ossana, James Schamus
Capote Producers: Caroline Baron, William Vince, Michael Ohoven
Good Night, and Good Luck Producer: Grant Heslov
The Squid and the Whale Producers: Wes Anderson, Peter Newman, Charles Corwin, Clara Markowicz
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada Producers: Michael Fitzgerald, Tommy Lee Jones

BEST DIRECTOR
Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck.
Gregg Araki, Mysterious Skin
Rodrigo Garcia, Nine Lives
Noah Baumbach, The Squid and the Whale

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Crash Director: Paul Haggis, Producers: Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, Bob Yari, Mark R. Harris, Bobby Moresco, Paul Haggis
Lackawanna Blues Director: George C. Wolfe, Producer: Nellie Nugiel
Me and You and Everyone We Know Director: Miranda July, Producer: Gina Kwon
Thumbsucker Director: Mike Mills, Producers: Anthony Bregman, Bob Stephenson
Transamerica Director: Duncan Tucker, Producers: Rene Bastian, Sebastian Dungan, Linda Moran

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
(Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)
Brick Director/Writer: Rian Johnson, Producers: Ram Bergman and Mark G. Mathis
Conventioneers Director: Mora Stephens, Producer: Joel Viertel, Writers: Mora Stephens and Joel Viertel
Jellysmoke Director/Writer/Producer: Mark Banning
The Puffy Chair Director: Jay Duplass, Producer: Mark Duplass, Writers: Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass
Room Director/Writer: Kyle Henry, Producers: Allen Bain, Darren Goldberg, Jesse Scolaro

BEST SCREENPLAY
Ayad Akhtar, Joseph Castelo, Tom Glynn, The War Within
Guillermo Arriaga, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Noah Baumbach, The Squid and the Whale
Dan Futterman, Capote
Rodrigo Garcia, Nine Lives

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Kenneth Hanes, Fixing Frank
Miranda July, Me and You and Everyone We Know
Angus MacLachlan, Junebug
Sabina Murray, The Beautiful Country
Duncan Tucker, Transamerica

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Amy Adams, Junebug
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Happy Endings
Allison Janney, Our Very Own
Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain
Robin Wright Penn, Nine Lives

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Firdous Bamji, The War Within
Matt Dillon, Crash
Jesse Eisenberg, The Squid and the Whale
Barry Pepper, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Jeffrey Wright, Broken Flowers

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Felicity Huffman, Transamerica
Dina Korzun, Forty Shades of Blue
Laura Linney, The Squid and the Whale
S. Epatha Merkerson, Lackawanna Blues
Cyndi Williams, Room

BEST MALE LEAD
Jeff Daniels, The Squid and the Whale
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Robert Elswit, Good Night, and Good Luck.
John Foster, Keane
Adam Kimmel, Capote
Chris Menges, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Harris Savides, Last Days

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Romania) Director: Cristi Puiu
Duck Season (Mexico) Director: Fernando Eimbcke
Head-On (Germany/Turkey) Director: Fatih Akin
Paradise Now (Palestine/Netherlands/Germany/France) Director: Hany Abu-Assad
Tony Takitani (Japan) Director: Jun Ichikawa

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Director: Alex Gibney
Grizzly Man, Director: Werner Herzog
La Sierra, Directors: Scott Dalton & Margarita Martinez
Romantico, Director: Mark Becker
Sir! No Sir!, Director: David Zeiger

IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award
($25,000 unrestricted grant)
Ian Gamazon and Neill Dela Llana, director of "Cavite"
Robinson Devor, director of "Police Beat"
Jay Duplass, director of "The Puffy Chair"

Truer Than Fiction Award
($25,000 unrestricted grant)
Rachel Boynton for "Our Brand is Crisis"
Garrett Scott & Ian Olds for "Occupation: Dreamland"
Mark Becker for "Romantico"
Thomas Allen Harris for "Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela"

AMC/American Express Producers Award
($25,000 unrestricted grant)
Caroline Baron, producer of "Capote" and "Monsoon Wedding"
Ram Bergman, producer of "Brick" and "Conversations with Other Women"
Mike S. Ryan, producer of "Junebug" and "Palindromes"

My award nominations are up:

http://www.annieawards.com/

Annie Mall wrote:My award nominations are up:

http://www.annieawards.com/

haha, you wish.

L.A. Film Critics:

BEST PICTURE
• Brokeback Mountain
runner-up: A History of Violence

BEST DIRECTOR
• Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain
runner-up: David Cronenberg - A History of Violence

BEST ACTOR
• Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
runner-up: Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain

BEST ACTRESS
• Vera Farmiga - Down to the Bone
runner-up: Judi Dench - Mrs. Henderson Presents

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
• William Hurt - A History of Violence
runner-up: Frank Langella - Good Night, and Good Luck.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
• Catherine Keener - Capote, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, The Ballad of Jack and Rose, The Intepreter
runner-up: Amy Adams - Junebug

BEST SCREENPLAY
• Dan Futterman - Capote & Noah Baumbach - The Squid and the Whale

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
• Robert Elswit - Good Night, and Good Luck.
runner-up: Christopher Doyle, Kwan Pun Leung, Yiu Fai Lai - 2046

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
• William Chang - 2046
runner-up: James D. Bissell - Good Night, and Good Luck.

BEST MUSIC SCORE
• Joe Hishaishi - Howl's Moving Castle
runner-up: Ryuichi Sakamoto - Tony Takatani

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
• Cache
runner-up: 2046

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
• Grizzly Man
runner-up: Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room

BEST ANIMATED FILM
• Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit

DOUGLAS EDWARDS EXPERIMENTAL / INDEPENDENT FILM / VIDEO AWARD
• La Commune (Paris, 1871)

NEW GENERATION AWARD
• Terrence Howard

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
• Richard Widmark

Broadcast Film Critics Association(Critic's Choice Awards):

BEST PICTURE:
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Cinderella Man
The Constant Gardener
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck.
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
Munich
Walk the Line

BEST ACTOR:
Russell Crowe – “Cinderella Manâ€

Can you imagine Terrence Howard walked away with Best Support Actor and Best Actor Oscars this year? I wouldn't be too surprised. I wonder though if he'll even be nominated...

AFI:

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
THE 40 YEAR-OLD VIRGIN
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
KING KONG
MUNICH
THE SQUID AND THE WHALE
SYRIANA

New York Film Critics Online

Picture - The Squid and the Whale
Actor - Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)
Actress - Keira Knightley (Pride and Prejudice)
Director - Fernando Meirelles (Constant Gardener)
Supporting Actor - Oliver Platt (Casanova)
Supporting Actress - Amy Adams (Junebug)
Breakthrough Performer - Terrence Howard (Hustle and Flow, Crash, Get Rich or Die Tryin', Four Brothers)
Debut Director - Paul Haggis (Crash)
Screenplay - Paul Haggis (Crash)
Documentary - Grizzly Man
Foreign Language - Downfall
Animated - Wallace & Gromit - The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Cinematography - March of the Penguins

Top 9 Films (in alphabetical order):
The Best of Youth (Miramax)
Brokeback Mountain (Focus)
Capote (Sony Classics)
The Constant Gardener (Focus)
Crash (Lions Gate)
Good Night, and Good Luck. (Warner Independent)
Munich (Universal/DreamWorks)
The Squid and the Whale (Samuel Goldwyn)
Syriana (Warner Bros.)

Boston Film Critics:

Film: Brokeback Mountain
Director: Ang Lee
Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Actress: Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line
Supporting: Catherine Keener, Paul Giamatti
Screenplay: Capote, Dan Futterman
Documentary: Murderball
New Filmmaker Award: Joe Wright for Pride & Prejudice

National Board of Review <snort> with a passel of awards for every major motion picture released in 2005:

Best Film: Good Night, And Good Luck

And, in alphabetical order:

Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
History of Violence
Match Point
Memoirs of a Geisha
Munich
Syriana
Walk the Line

BEST FIVE FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILMS OF 2005

Best Foreign-Language Film: Paradise Now

And, in alphabetical order:

2046
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Downfall
Walk on Water

BEST FIVE DOCUMENTARIES OF 2005

Best Documentary: March of the Penguins

And, in alphabetical order:

Ballets Russes
Grizzly Man
Mad Hot Ballroom
Murderball

Best Animated Feature: Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
Best Director: Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Best Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Best Actress: Felicity Huffman, TransAmerica
Best Supporting Actor: Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain
Best Supporting Actress: Gong Li, Memoirs of a Geisha
Best Acting By An Ensemble: Mrs. Henderson Presents
Breakthrough Performance Actor: Terrence Howard, Crash, Get Rich or Die Tryin' and
Hustle & Flow
Breakthrough Performance Actress: Q'Orianka Kilcher, The New World
Best Directorial Debut: Julian Fellowes, Separate Lies
Best Adapted Screenplay: Stephen Gaghan, Syriana
Best Original Screenplay: Noah Baumbach, The Squid and the Whale
Best Film or Mini-Series Made for Cable TV: Lackawanna Blues
Career Achievement: Jane Fonda
Career Achievement in Film Music Composition: Howard Shore
Outstanding Achievement in Special Effects: King Kong
Billy Wilder Award for Excellence in Direction: David Cronenberg
William K. Everson Award for Film History: George Feltenstein
Producer of the Year Award: Saul Zaentz
Special Recognition of Films That Reflect Freedom of _Expression:

Innocent Voices and The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till

Special Mention for Excellence in Filmmaking:

The National Board of Review, in keeping with its long tradition of recognizing excellence in filmmaking, is proud to salute the following films crafted by visionary artists, which demonstrate the creativity and determination always vital to the film industry.

(Listed Alphabetically)

Breakfast on Pluto
Cape of Good Hope
The Dying Gaul
Everything Is Illuminated
Hustle & Flow
Junebug
Layer Cake
Lord of War
Nine Lives
The Thing About My Folks
The Upside of Anger

From the prestigious New York Film critics circle:

picture: Brokeback Mountain
director: Ang Lee
actor: Heath Ledger
actress: Reese Witherspoon
supp. actor: William Hurt
supp. actress: Maria Bello
screenplay: The Squid and the Whale

http://www.nyfcc.com/2005awards.php

2005 SAN FRANCISCO FILM CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDS:

Best Picture – Brokeback Mountain

Best Director – Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain

Best Actor – Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain

Best Actress – Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line

Best Supporting Actor – Kevin Costner, Upside of Anger

Best Supporting Actress – Amy Adams, Junebug

Best Screenplay – Good Night, and Good Luck

Best Documentary – Grizzly Man

Best Foreign Film – Cache

Golden Globe nominations:

BEST PICTURE DRAMA
- Brokeback Mountain
- The Constant Gardener
- Good Night, and Good Luck.
- A History of Violence
- Match Point

BEST PICTURE COMEDY or MUSICAL
- Mrs. Henderson Presents
- Pride & Prejudice
- The Producers
- The Squid and the Whale
- Walk the Line

BEST DIRECTOR
- Woody Allen - Match Point
- George Clooney - Good Night, and Good Luck.
- Peter Jackson - King Kong
- Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain
- Fernando Meirelles - The Constant Gardener
- Steven Spielberg - Munich

BEST ACTOR DRAMA
- Russell Crowe - Cinderella Man
- Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
- Terrence Howard - Hustle & Flow
- Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
- David Strathairn - Good Night, and Good Luck.

BEST ACTOR COMEDY or MUSICAL
- Pierce Brosnan - The Matador
- Jeff Daniels - The Squid and the Whale
- Johnny Depp - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Nathan Lane - The Producers
- Cillian Murphy - Breakfast On Pluto
- Joaquin Phoenix - Walk the Line

BEST ACTRESS DRAMA
- Maria Bello - A History of Violence
- Felicity Huffman - Transamerica
- Charlize Theron - North Country
- Gwyneth Paltrow - Proof
- Ziyi Zhang - Memoirs of a Geisha

BEST ACTRESS COMEDY or MUSICAL
- Judi Dench - Mrs. Henderson Presents
- Laura Linney - The Squid and the Whale
- Keira Knightley - Pride & Prejudice
- Sarah Jessica Parker - The Family Stone
- Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- George Clooney - Syriana
- Matt Dillon - Crash
- Will Ferrell - The Producers
- Bob Hoskins - Mrs. Henderson Presents
- Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Scarlett Johansson - Match Point
- Shirley MacLaine - In Her Shoes
- Frances McDormand - North Country
- Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
- Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain

BEST SCREENPLAY
- Match Point
- Good Night, and Good Luck
- Crash
- Munich
- Brokeback Mountain

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
- Christmas In Love
- The Producers
- The Chronicles of Narnia (Wunderkind)
- Brokeback Mountain
- Tranamerica

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
- Syriana
- King Kong
- Brokeback Mountain
- The Chronicles of Narnia
- Memoirs of a Geisha

BEST FOREIGN FILM
- Kung Fu Hustle
- Master of Crimson Armor
- Merry Christmas
- Paradise Now
- Tsotsi

CECIL B. DEMILLE AWARD
- Anthony Hopkins

Sight and Sound's Top Films of the year:

1 Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee)
=2 A History of Violence (David Cronenberg)
The Holy Girl (Lucretia Martel)
=4 2046 (Wong Kar Wai)
Mysterious Skin (Gregg Araki)
=6 The Consequences of Love (Paolo Sorrentino)
The Descent (Neil Marshall)
Moolaadé (Ousmane Sembene)
Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
=10 The Beat That My Heart Skipped (Jaques Audiard)
Head-On (Fatih Akin)
Howl's Moving Castle (Hayao Miyazaki)
Last Days (Gus Van Sant)
The Sun (Aleksandr Sokurov)

Was I the only one who thought Sin City and Batman Begins would be considered for...something?

Ebert's Top Ten

1. Crash
2. Syriana
3. Munich
4. Junebug
5. Brokeback Mountain
6. Me and You and Everyone We Know
7. Nine Lives
8. King Kong
9. Yes
10. Millions

Peter Travers Top Ten


1. A History of Violence
2. Brokeback Mountain
3. Good Night, Good Luck
4. Munich
5. Capote
6. The Squid & The Whale
7. The Constant Gardener
8. Crash
9. (TIE) King Kong and The Wedding Crashers

S&S's list is, and will probably remain, the only list that is actually kind of interesting, although I disagree with almost all of it (maybe just "The Sun" would make my own Top 10). Particularly sad that they joined the "Brokeback" bandwagon.