MTFB Oscar Take: After Short Lists: Cinematography, Editing, Score and Song / Oscar Shortlist and TFF / London Film Critics and TFF

MTFB OSCAR TAKE AFTER SHORT LISTS:  CINEMATOGRAPHY, EDITING, SCORE AND SONG

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1) Sinners (3)

2) One Battle after Another (2)

3) Hamnet (1)

4) Frankenstein (4)

5) Train Dreams (5)

Others: F1, Marty Supreme and Nouvelle Vague.

BEST EDITING

1) One Battle After Another (1)

2) Sinners (2)

3) F1 (4)

4) Marty Supreme (5)

5) Hamnet (3)

Others: Frankenstein, It Was Just an Accident and Sentimental Value.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

1) Sinners (1)

2) One Battle After Another (2)

3) Hamnet (3)

4) Frankenstein (4)

5) Train Dreams (NR)

Others: F1, Marty Supreme and Bugonia.

ORIGINAL SONG

1) Golden/K Pop Demon Hunters (1)

2) I Lied to You/Sinners (2)

3) Dear Me/Diane Warren: Relentless (3)

4) The Girl in the Bubble/Wicked: For Good (4)

5) Train Dreams/Train Dreams (NR)

Others: Last Time (I Seen the Sun)/Sinners, No Place Like Home/Wicked: For Good and Drive/F1. 

OSCAR SHORTLISTS AND TFF

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its Shortlists for 12 different categories as Academy members get ready to cast their votes to nominate films and individuals for the 2026 Oscars. At this point a film can only be nominated in any of the 12 categories if they have been shortlisted.

Among the films from TFF #52 Frankenstein lead the way with six mentions.  Overall TFF #52 were mentioned 27 times across a broad array of the ten categories.  Here' where TFF films landed:

Frankenstein (6): Best Casting, Cinematography, Makeup/Hair, Score, Sound and Visual Effects.

Hamnet (3): Casting, Cinematography and Score.

Sentimental Value (3): Casting, Cinematography and International Feature.

The Secret Agent (2): Best International Feature and Casting.

Bugonia (2): Best Cinematography and Score.

TFF #52* feature films with Single mentions:

The Ballad of a Small Player: Cinematography.

Nouvelle Vague: Cinematography.

Cover-Up: Documentary.

Apocalypse in the Tropics: Documentary (*TFF #51)

It was Just an Accident: International Feature.

Jay Kelly: Score.

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere" Sound.

TFF #52 Short Films:

All the Empty Rooms: Doc Short.

All the Walls Come Down: Doc Short.

Last Days on Lake Trinity: Doc Short.

Extremist: Live Action Short.

The complete list of all Oscar Short Lists can be found here.

LONDON FILM CRITICS AND TFF

The London Film Critics Circle has named their nominees for film excellence.  Here's how TFF #52 faired:

Hamnet (8): Film of the Year, British/Irish Film of the Year, Director of the Year, Screenwriter of the Year, Actress of the Year, British/Irish Performer of the Year, Young British/Irish Performer of the Year (X 2).

The Mastermind (4): Film of the Year, Actor of the Year, British/Irish Performer of the Year, Technical Achievement: Music.

Sentimental Value (4): Film of the Year, Foreign Film of the Year, Actress of the Year, Supporting Actress of the Year.

Pillion (3): British/Irish Film of the Year, Supporting Actor of the Year, Breakthrough Filmmaker.

The Secret Agent (2): Foreign Film of the Year, Actor of the Year.

Urchin (2): Breakthrough Performer of the Year, Breakthrough Filmmaker.

Single nominations for:

It was Just an Accident: Foreign Film of the Year.

Cover-Up: Documentary of the Year.

One to One: John and Yoko: Documentary of the Year (*TFF 51)

Riefenstahl: Documentary of the Year (*TFF 51)

Bugonia: British/Irish Film of the Year

Blue Moon: Actor of the Year.

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You: Actress of the Year.

Frankenstein: Supporting actor of the Year.

The complete list of all London Critics nominees is linked here.

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MTFB Oscar Take: Second Predictions for International, Documentary and Animated Features and Casting / New York Film Critics Online Announce 2025 Nominees / Visitations

MTFB OSCAR TAKE: SECOND PREDICTIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL, DOCUMENTARY AND ANIMATED FEATURES AND CASTING

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

1) Sentimental Value (Norway) (1)

2) It Was Just an Accident (France) (2)

3) The Secret Agent (Brazil) (3)

4) No Other Choice (South Korea) (4)

5) Sirat (Spain) (NR)

Others: The Voice of hind Rajab, Left-Handed Girl (Taiwan) and 2000 Meters to Andriivka.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

1) The Perfect Neighbor (1)

2) 2000 Meters to Andriivka (2)

3) Apocalypse in the Tropics (TFF #51) (3)

4) Cover-Up (5)

5) The Alabama Solution (4)

Others: Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, Orwell: 2+2=5,  and Come See Me in the Good Light.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

1) K-Pop Demon Hunters (1)

2) Zootopia 2 (3)

3) Arco (2)

4) Little Amelie or the Character of Rain (NR)

5) Elio (4)

Others: In Your Dreams, The Magnificent Life, Scarlet.

BEST CASTING

1) Sinners (2)

2) One Battle After Another (1)

3) Marty Supreme (3)

4) Hamnet (5)

5) Wicked: For Good (4)

Others: Jay Kelly, Wake Up Dead Man and Nouvelle Vague.

 NEW YORK CRITICS ONLINE ANNOUNCE 2025 NOMINEES

13 Telluride #52 films earned 41 nominations this past week from The New York Film Critics Online.  Hamnet and Sentimental lead the way for TFF films with each film grabbing 10 nominations.  Here's the list:

Hamnet (10): Best Picture, Direction, Screenplay, Actress, Supporting Actor (X2), Ensemble, Use of Music, Cinematography and Breakthrough Performance.

Sentimental Value (10): Best Picture, Direction, Screenplay, Actress, Supporting Actress (X2), Supporting Actor, Ensemble, Breakthrough Performance and International Feature.

It was Just an Accident (4): Best Picture, Direction, Ensemble and International Feature.

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (3): Best Picture, Screenplay and Actress.

Bugonia (3): Best Screenplay, Actress and Actor.

The Secret Agent (2): Best Actor and International Feature.

Frankenstein (2): Best Supporting Actor and Cinematography.

Pillion (2): Best Supporting Actor and Debut Director.

Blue Moon (1): Best Actor.

Jay Kelly (1): Best Supporting Actor.

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (1): Best Use of Music.

Urchin (1): Best Debut Director.

Cover-Up (1): Best Documentary.

VISITATIONS

The Making of Frankenstein from The Hollywood Reporter.

Noah Baumbach on Jay Kelly and More from The Hollywood Reporter.

The Jacobi Brothers on Hamnet from Awards Watch.

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MTFB Oscar Take: Supporting Acting and Screenplays #4

MTFB OSCAR TAKE: SUPPORTING ACTING AND SCREENPLAYS #4

Here are the updated predictions for the Supporting Acting and Screenplay categories.  TFF #52 films and performers are in Bold.  A film's previous ranking is to the right of the title in parentheses.

SUPPRORTING ACTRESS

1) Teyana Taylor/One Battle After Another (2)

2) Ariana Grande/Wicked: For Good (1)

3) Amy Madigan/Weapons (3)

4) Elle Fanning/Sentimental Value (4)

5) Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas/Sentimental Value (5)

Others: Regina Hall/One Battle After Another, Wunmi Mosaku/Sinners and Gwyneth Paltrow/Marty Supreme.

SUPPORTING ACTOR

1) Stellan Skarsgard/Sentimental Value (1)

2) Sean Penn/One Battle After Another (2)

3) Paul Mescal/Hamnet 

4) Benicio del Toro/One Battle After Another (5)

5) Jacob Elordi/Frankenstein (NR) 

Others: Adam Sandler/Jay Kelly, DelRoy Lindo/Sinners and William H. Macy/Train Dreams.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1) Sinners (1)

2) Sentimental Value (2)

3) Marty Supreme (NR)

4) It Was Just an Accident (5)

5) Jay Kelly (4)

Others: The Secret Agent, Weapons and The House of Dynamite.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1) Hamnet (1)

2) One Battle After Another (2)

3) Bugonia (3)

4) Train Dreams (4)

5) Frankenstein (NR)

Others: Wake Up Dead Man, No Other Choice and Nuremburg.

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MTFB Oscar Take: Best Picture, Direction and Lead Acting / More of the Deluge: Golden Globes, L.A. Film Critics, Critic's Choice and The American Film Institute / La Grazia Trailer

MTFB OSCAR TAKE:  BEST PICTURE, DIRECTION AND LEAD ACTING #4

BEST PICTURE

1) One Battle After Another (1)

2) Hamnet (2)

3) Sinners (3)

4) Marty Supreme (5)

5) Sentimental Value (4)

6) Frankenstein (7)

7) It Was Just an Accident (8)

8) Jay Kelly (9)

9) Wicked: For Good (6)

10) Train Dreams (10)

Others: Avatar: Fire and Ice, Bugonia and The Secret Agent.

 

Notes: Wicked: for Good takes a substantial drop.  The Frankenstein charge continues.

BEST DIRECTION

1) Paul Thomas Anderson/OBAA (1)

2) Chloe Zhao/Hamnet (2)

3) Ryan Coogler/Sinners (3)

4) Jafar Panahi/It Was Just an Accident (4)

5) Joachim Trier/Sentimental Value (5)

Others: Josh Safdie/Marty Supreme, Guillermo del Toro/Frankenstein and Park Chan-wook/No Other Choice.

BEST ACTRESS

1) Jesse Buckley/Hamnet (1)

2) Rene Reinsve/Sentimental Value (2)

3) Cynthia Enviro/Wicked: For Good (3)

4) Amanda Seyfried/The Testament of Ann Lee (5)

4) Emma Stone/Bugonia (4)

Others: Chase Infiniti/OBAA, Rose Byrne/If I Had Legs I'd Kick You and Kate Hudson/Song Sung Blue.

BEST ACTOR

1) Timothee Chalamet/Marty Supreme (1)

2) Leonardo DiCaprio/OBAA (2)

3) Walter Moura/The Secret Agent (3)

4) Ethan Hawke/Blue Moon (5)

5) Michael B. Jordan/Sinners (4)

Others: Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams), George Clooney/Jay Kelly and  Jeremy Allen White (Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.

MORE OF THE DELUGE

Critics and Film Organizations continued these past few days with their lists of "Best Ofs" and/or nominations. 

GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATIONS

The Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning.  TFF #52 films did well earning a collective 36 nominations.  One Battle After Another led all films with nine nominations..  Here's the rundown of TFF #52 nominees:

Sentimental Value (8): Best Picture/Drama, Non-English Language Film, Actress/Drama, Supporting Actress X 2, Supporting actor, Direction, Screenplay.

Hamnet (6): Best Picture/Drama, Actress/Drama. Supporting Actor, Director, Screenplay and Score.

Frankenstein (5): best Picture/Drama, Actor/Drama, Supporting Actor, Director, Score.

It Was Just an Accident (4): Best Picture/Drama, Non-English Language Film, Director, Screenplay.

The Secret Agent (3): Best Picture/Drama, Non-English Language Film, Actor/Drama

Bugonia (3): Best Picture/Musical or Comedy, Actress/Musical or Comedy, Actor Musical or Comedy.

Blue Moon (2): Best Picture/Musical or Comedy, Actor/Musical or Comedy.

Jay Kelly (2): Best Actor/Musical or Comedy, Supporting Actor.

Springsteen; Deliver Me from Nowhere (1): Best Actor/Musical or Comedy.

If I had Legs Id' Kick You (1): Best Actress/Musical or Comedy.

Nouvelle Vague (1): Best Picture/Musical or Comedy.

The complete Golden Globes list of nominees is here.

LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS

The L.A. Film Critics' Association named their best films in a number of categories.  Six TFF #52 films earned Best Of or Runner-up Status.  They were:

The Secret Agent: Best Film/Runner-up, Best Non English-Language Film, Lead Performance/Runner-up.

Blue Moon: Best Lead Performance, Supporting actor/Runner-up.

Sentimental Value: Best Supporting Performance, Supporting Performance/Runner-up.

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You: Best Lead Performance.

It Was Just an Accident; Best Screenplay.

Frankenstein; Production Design/Runner-up.

CRITICS' CHOICE NOMINATIONS

Sinners lead all films with 17 total CCA nominations followed by One Battle After Another with 14.  TFF#52 films held their own though with both Hamnet and Frankenstein grabbing 11 nominations (the third highest total). TFF #52 films earned a total of 41 nominations.

Here's the TFF #52 breakdown:

HAMNET (Focus Features) – 11

Best Picture

Best Actress – Jessie Buckley

Best Supporting Actor – Paul Mescal

Best Young Actor / Actress – Jacobi Jupe

Best Director – Chloé Zhao

Best Adapted Screenplay – Chloé Zhao, Maggie O’Farrell

Best Casting and Ensemble – Nina Gold

Best Cinematography – Łukasz Żal

Best Production Design – Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton

Best Costume Design – Malgosia Turzanska

Best Score – Max Richter

FRANKENSTEIN (Netflix) – 11

Best Picture

Best Supporting Actor – Jacob Elordi

Best Director – Guillermo del Toro

Best Adapted Screenplay – Guillermo del Toro

Best Cinematography – Dan Laustsen

Best Production Design – Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau

Best Costume Design – Kate Hawley

Best Hair and Makeup – Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey

Best Visual Effects – Dennis Berardi, Ayo Burgess, Ivan Busquets, José Granell

Best Score – Alexandre Desplat

Best Sound – Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern, Greg Chapman

SENTIMENTAL VALUE (Neon) – 7

Best Picture

Best Actress – Renate Reinsve

Best Supporting Actor – Stellan Skarsgård

Best Supporting Actress – Elle Fanning

Best Supporting Actress – Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas

Best Director – Joachim Trier

Best Original Screenplay – Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier

JAY KELLY (Netflix) – 4

Best Picture

Best Supporting Actor – Adam Sandler

Best Original Screenplay – Noah Baumbach, Emily Mortimer

Best Casting and Ensemble – Douglas Aibel, Nina Gold

BUGONIA (Focus Features) – 3

Best Picture

Best Actress – Emma Stone

Best Adapted Screenplay – Will Tracy

THE SECRET AGENT (Neon) – 2

Best Actor – Wagner Moura

Best Foreign Language Film

BLUE MOON (Sony Pictures Classics) – 1

Best Actor – Ethan Hawke

IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU (A24) – 1

Best Actress – Rose Byrne

IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT (Neon) – 1

Best Foreign Language Film

The complete rundown of nominations for the CCA is linked here.

AMERICAN FILM INSTUTUTE TOP TEN FILMS (PLUS)

From the American Film Institute's Top Ten list plus one more superlative (TFF #52 films in Bold):

AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH

BUGONIA

FRANKENSTEIN

HAMNET

JAY KELLY

MARTY SUPREME

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

SINNERS

TRAIN DREAMS

WICKED: FOR GOOD

AFI SPECIAL AWARD

IT WAS JUST AN ACCCIDENT

Here's the complete announcement from the AFI.

LA GRAZIA TRAILER 

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MTFB Oscar Update: First Predix for the Final Five Feature Categories . The Deluge Begins: New York Film Critics Circle, Gotham Awards, National Board of Review

 MTFB OSCAR UPDATE: FIRST PREDIX FOR FINAL FIVE FEATURE CATEGORIES

Today we add final five feature categories with initial predictions for Production Design, Makeup/Hair, Costumes, Sound and Visual Effects.  All TFF #52 films are in Bold.    Here they are:

PRODUCTION DESIGN

1) Frankenstein

2) Hamnet

3) Wicked: For Good

4) Sinners

5) Avatar: Fire and Ash

Others: Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another and The Phoenician Scheme.

COSTUME DESIGN

1) Wicked: For Good

2) Frankenstein

3) Sinners

4) Hamnet

5) Kiss of the Spiderwoman

Others: One Battle After Another, Hedda and Marty Supreme.

MAKEUP AND HAIR

1) Frankenstein

2) Wicked: For Good

3) The Smashing Machine

4) Sinners

5) Weapons

Others: 28 Years Later, Bugonia and One Battle After Another.

SOUND DESIGN

1) F1

2) Sinners

3) Wicked: For Good

4) One Battle After Another

5) Avatar: Fire and Ash

Others: Frankenstein, Sinners, Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning and Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere..

VISUAL EFFECTS

1) Avatar: Fire and Ash

2) F1

3) Wicked: For Good

4) Superman

5) Frankenstein

Others: Sinners, Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning and The Fantastic Four.

Sooo...at this point, if the nominations were announced tomorrow, MTFB is currently predicting the following :

Hamnet (11): Best Picture, Direction, Actress, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Casting, Cinematography, Editing, Score, Production Design and Costumes.

Sentimental Value (8): Best Picture, Direction, Actress, Two in Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor Original Screenplay, and International Feature.

Frankenstein (7): Best Picture, Cinematography, Score, Production Design, Costumes, Makeup/Hair and Visual Effects.

It Was Just an Accident (4): Best Picture, Direction, Original Screenplay and International Feature.

Jay Kelly (3): Best Picture, Supporting Actor and Original Screenplay.

Bugonia (2): Best Actress and Adapted Screenplay.

The Secret Agent (2): Best Actor and International Feature.

Single nominations for:

Blue Moon: Best Actor.

Cover-Up: Best Documentary.

and from TFF #51: Apocalypse in the Tropics: Best Documentary.

That's 10 TFF films nominated and a total of  40 nominations.

THE DELUGE BEGINS

Pre-nomination Oscar precursors bean to weigh in with force the past few days.  TFF films were faring moderately well.

New York Film Critics Circle: TFF films awarded were:

Best Direction: Jafar Pahani/It Was Just an Accident.

Best International Film: The Secret Agent.

Best actress: Rose Byrne/If I Had Legs I'd Kick You.

Best Actor: Walter Moura/The Secret Agent.

The Gotham Awards and TFF films:

Best Direction: Jafar Panahi/It Was Just an Accident

Best International Feature: It Was Just an Accident.

Best Original Screenplay: It Was Just an Accident.

Pillion: Best Adapted Screenplay.

National Board of Review:

Best Actress: Rose Byrne/If I had Legs I'd Kick You.

Best Supporting Actress: Inga Idsbotter Lileaas/Sentimental Value.

Best International Film: It Was Just an Accident.

Best Documentary: Cover-Up.

 From NBR's Top Films list: Frankenstein, Jay Kelly.

From NBR's Top Five International Films: The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value.

From NBR's Top Ten Independent Films: If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, The Mastermind, Urchin.

The complete NBR list is here.

Finally, The Golden Globe nominations will be announced on Monday.  I'll have that then.

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MTFB Oscar Update: First Predix for Four Categories / Cover-Up Trailer / Visitations: Buckley, Mescal, White and More

MTFB OSCAR UPDATE: FIRST PREDIX FOR FOUR CATEGORIES

Today we add four more categories with initial predictions for Cinematography, Editing, Score and Song.  All TFF #52 films are in Bold.    Here they are:

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1) Hamnet

2) One Battle after Another

3) Sinners

4) Frankenstein

5) Train Dreams

Others: F1, One Battle After Another and Wicked: For Good.

BEST EDITING

1) One Battle After Another

2) Sinners

3) Hamnet

4) F1

5) Marty Supreme

Others: Sentimental Value, Avatar: Fire and Ash and The House of Dynamite.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

1) Sinners

2) One Battle After Another

3) Hamnet

4) Frankenstein

5) Marty Supreme

Others: Jay Kelly, Bugonia and Hedda.

ORIGINAL SONG

1) Golden/K Pop Demon Hunters

2) I Lied to You/Sinners

3) Dear Me/Diane Warren: Relentless

4) The Girl in the Bubble/Wicked: For Good

5) Last Time (I Seen the Sun)/Sinners

Others: No Place Like Here/Wicked: For Good, Drive/F1 and Clothed by the Sun/The Last Testament of Ann Lee.

TRAILER: COVER-UP

From YouTube:

VISITATIONS: BUCKLEY, MESCAL, WHITE AND MORE

Jesse Buckley and Paul Mescal for Hamnet from Letterboxd via YouTube.

Writer Maggie O'Farrell for Hamnet from Awards Watch.

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas for Sentimental Value from Pop Culture Confidential.

Director Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value from Pop Culture Confidential.

Jeremy Allen White for Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere for The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter.

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