Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman was named Best Picture by the New York Film Critics Circle, with Joe Pesci also nabbing Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the Netflix movie.
Best Director distinction went to Benny and Josh Safdie for Uncut Gems while Quentin Tarantino earned Best Screenplay For Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood.
Antonio Banderas and Lupita Nyong’o won Best Actor and Actress, respectively, for Pain and Glory and Us.
Laura Dern took Best Supporting Actress for her performances in two films–Little Women and Marriage Story.
Taking the Best Cinematography honor was Claire Mathon for Portrait of a Lady on Fire.
Best First Film distinction was bestowed upon Mati Diop’s Atlantics.
Parasite wears the mantle as Best Foreign Language Film.
Honeyland was named Best Nonfiction Film.
Special awards have been designated for composer Randy Newman and Indie Collect.
The New York Film Critics Circle Awards will be presented to recipients next month in NYC.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More