The Roundup with Jeff Stockton (SEASON 35 GRA EDITION)

 

Jeff Stockton here once again. I've decided to tweak the format for this season's GRA edition of The Roundup (more format changes to come in Season 36 along with the new banner). Historically, I have covered things one category at a time in the GRA Roundup, but I decided to try something a little different and cover things once film at a time. We'll see how it goes. Here's the Season 35 GRA Edition of The Roundup....

ONE NOMINATION

NEW CHRISTIANITY

Honesty, the poster design is pretty cool - so a Best Production Design win isn't out of the question. I don't think it's likely - but definitely not impossible.

UNKEMPT GARDEN

Rinko Kikuchi has a real shot at Best Actress in such a wide-open, and frankly weak, field this season. Her performance was in the same ballpark as the other nominees in terms of quality.

UNREASONABLE DOUBT

Cristin Milioti and Channing Tatum have to be considered serious contenders for Best Starring Couple. They were quirkily electric together.

VULTURES

Great soundtrack - as usual for a Rob Zombie picture. I'm not sure any film is going to topple Dwight Gallo's Punisher series from the Best Soundtrack pinnacle though.

THE WOMAN WHO WALKED ON RED SNOW

The film was very reliant on Yuliya Snigir's performance, but I'm not hearing much buzz around the film or her role.  

ZORRO

While I do not object to seeing a sequel to Zorro, I don't see this as an award-winner in this category against the sexy, splashier competition.

TWO NOMINATIONS

BATMAN: DUALITY

This 6th (!) Batman film was not the best of the bunch, but the script created a colorful transformation for Chris Rock's Harvey Dent into Two-Face finally in his third appearance. 

THE DAM

The nominations here make sense, but I think the competition is too tough to pull off a win in either Best Soundtrack or Best Adaptation.

THE FRIEND ZONE

Chris Pratt and Anna Kendrick are very charming together in this one, making them contenders for Best Starring Couple. The poster is very cute as well, so they have a shot there too.

THREE NOMINATIONS

MAN OF GOD

Talk about a film that helped start the season off on a positive note and then wasn't talked about again. All three nominations are for its main male actors: Josh Brolin, Michael Shannon, and Robert Aramayo. I think all three could possibly win in their categories, but I would put my money on only one coming away with gold since voters usually like to spread the love (unless the film is a masterpiece).

THE PUNISHER: PURGATORY

The first two Punisher films both won the Best Soundtrack GRA trophy in their respective seasons, so a win here will be no surprise. I'm not sure about Jonathan Tucker for Best Villain - it's an odd group of talents, characters, and films this season.

FOUR NOMINATIONS

DUST SAINT

It's usually a bit odd when a film's nominations are all top-heavy. It's a good film, but I don't like its chances with voters here.

THE HOUSE OF BLACK

I'd say Most Wanted Sequel is this Wizarding World's best shot at a trophy tonight. I don't see Emma Mackey winning Best Supporting Actress, and Best Adaptation would be a surprise. Best Ensemble Cast? Maybe.

SIX NOMINATIONS

RUBICON LIES

On paper, you'd think a film with such a high Metascore would end up with more nominations. The film's complete lack of female characters definitely hurt it in the nominations phase.

SEVEN NOMINATIONS

DISCOVERY

A very strong ensemble (sort of sci-fi) drama. It's going to be interesting seeing it go up against Rubicon Lies in so many categories - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Story, and Best Ensemble Cast.

TARA'S WRATH

This one garnered more nominations than I was expecting. Nominations like Best Production Design (where the studio has more control than writer in ways) and Best Soundtrack (Roy Horne knows how to curate music for films like this) helped pad things. I would bet serious money that Victoria Pedretti will come away with at least one GRA trophy by the end of the ceremony - she'll have three chances: Best Starring Couple, Best Villain, and Best Actress.

TEN NOMINATIONS

EIDOLON

I was surprised by the number of nominations this one received. It's a good film, but it's not even the best Bond film penned by John Malone. The first entry, Risico, managed 9 nominations, but is beat out by Eidolon here. Despite leading the season in GRA nominations, it would be hard to point Eidolon out as the clear favorite in any category this season (outside of maybe Best Adaptation).

For Your Consideration with Reuben Schwartz (Season 35)

 

Welcome back to For Your Consideration with Reuben Schwartz! In this post, I will recap the nominations for the latest Golden Reel Awards, the various storylines going into the ceremony and look back to locate its place within LRF's history.

The Storylines:

Can Bond do it again? John Malone’s 007 series has become a juggernaut at the Golden Reel Awards. Starting with Risico in Season 20, the Bond films have won three Best Picture and three Best Director trophies, which are a part of the franchise’s 11 total GRA wins. Eidolon has set the high water mark for the franchise with 10 nominations, giving the four films a total of 33 nominations. Just staggering.

So, will it win? As always with the late round release, momentum is certainly on its side. The only question becomes whether franchise fatigue will kick in and the voters turn to something new. But is there a clear second place at the moment? Two Jimmy Ellis co-written films, Rubicon Lies and Discovery, seem to be battling it out for that position. Both films have star power in front of and behind the camera and that can certainly hold some sway with voters.

Perhaps one of the biggest surprises of nominations morning was Tara’s Wrath nabbing 7 nominations, good enough for second place in the standings alongside Discovery. It is a fascinating artifact within LRF’s history, to see the third film in a franchise bounce back like this after a poorly-received sequel. And, of course, the fact that it was picked up by a new writer makes it even more of an LRF curio. While it didn’t find itself into the Best Picture race, it could still have a shot in a fairly even Best Original Story race.

Another storyline this season has been a strong international flavor within various categories. Of the four acting categories and Best Director, 12 of 20 nominees hail from outside of the United States. For a studio with a bustling stable of writers from all around the globe, it is great to see this reflected across the 35th GRAs.

And finally, the big question remains: who will win the prestigious Golden Reel of Achievement? Only handed out once every five seasons, past recipients include Tom Cruise, Mo Buck, Chad Taylor & John Malone, Christina Hendricks, APJ, and Alden Ehrenreich.


Returning Winners:

VICTORIA PEDRETTI - Tara’s Web was a revelation for Pedretti back in Season 26, amassing noms for Best Villain, Best Starring Couple, and a win for Best Actress. She now aims to join Sydney Sweeney in becoming the only actresses to win Best Actress twice for the same character.

DAN STEVENS - Stevens got his first taste of GRA gold for his supporting performance in Elysian. He has yet to win Best Actor for his turn as James Bond, with Eidolon marking his third nomination for the part.

JOSH BROLIN - Brolin was the first person to win Best Actor for Jonestown back in Season 1. He won again for The Void in Season 21 and is now vying to become the third actor to win Best Actor three or more times…

LEONARDO DICAPRIO - …speaking of, Leo still holds a firm lead at most Best Actor trophies with five. A win here would further distance himself from Tom Hardy in second with three wins.

Returning Nominees:

MICHAEL SHANNON - Shannon could slot in as a former winner as he previously won Best Villain for David Lynch’s Obsession. He has yet to win Best Supporting Actor after being previously nominated for Hated: The Ballad of GG Allin and Heavy Rain.

EMMA MACKEY - The sole nominee in the Best Supporting Actress crop to have been nominated before, Mackey was previously seen at the GRAs for her performance in Time Out!

JACOB ELORDI - While Elordi won Best Starring Couple for The Lone Ranger, he is still waiting for his first Best Actor win after two previous nominations (Starkweather, American Gigolo).

DAMIEN CHAZELLE - This marks the third Best Director nomination for Chazelle after Spider-Man and Oklahoma!, all collaborations with writer Chad Taylor.

DANNY BOYLE - Eidolon is Boyle’s second Best Director nomination after Open Hearts. He is vying to become the fourth straight James Bond director to win this award after Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, and Joe Wright won for the first three entries.

Newcomers:

JULIA ROBERTS - The 90s megastar earns her first GRA nomination after six appearances, with her LRF career starting in Season 21.

CHRIS ROCK - Rock has been nominated for the first time for his third appearance as Harvey Dent, a rare occurrence in LRF lore. Those three performances make up the comedian’s entire filmography at the studio.

HOLDEN ABBOTT - Dust Saint marks the first GRA writing nomination for Abbott for only their second film for the studio. The film’s Best Picture nomination also marks a high achievement for a relatively new screenwriter.

GEORGIA WATTS - In the Best Adaptation category, Watts pulls off the rare feat of being nominated for their first screenplay at LRF.

ROSE GLASS - The Dust Saint director debuted in Season 29 with The Woman Upstairs and now becomes just the fourth woman to be nominated for the GRA for Best Director.

JESSIE BUCKLEY - Buckley has been a part of five Best Ensemble-nominated casts (four of them X-Men films), but Dust Saint is her first individual nomination.

RENATE REINSVE and LUPITA NYONG’O - Buckley’s fellow Supporting Actress nominees have also been nominated for ensemble casts in the past and are now getting their first individual nod. An added wrinkle, per the LRF Trivia Tidbits, is that Nyongo’o turned down the role in Discovery that Reinsve would later take over.

JOSH O’CONNOR - The Discovery actor has landed his first GRA nomination for his second LRF film, after previously starring as Chuck Mitchell in Songbird.

RINKO KIKUCHI - After steadily building up her LRF resume since Season 6’s Shōgun, Kikuchi is making her GRA debut for her sixth film at the studio.

YULIYA SNIGIR - Snigir is aiming to become Meirad Tako’s third Best Actress winner in the last eight seasons after Dafne Keen for Who Do You Trust When the World is At War? and Yuki Kato for Klitih: A Way of Life.

SEASON 35 GOLDEN REEL AWARDS VOTING

 

The highly competitive nomination phase is over and you, the voters, have decided who will be nominated for the Season 35 Golden Reel Awards. You may now vote to see which nominees will come out victorious at this season's upcoming award ceremony....   

SEASON 35 GRA NOMINATIONS POLL

 

The first step of any awards show is to determine the nominees. The choices will be announced in less than 72 hours, so vote soon.

In each category, please select your top FIVE choices. All of the categories are below, so just keep scrolling and vote.

PREMIERE MAGAZINE #350

 

The Roundup with Jeff Stockton (Season 35 Round 10)

 

 

 Round 10 ends things on a high note for a shaky Season 35. Here's The Roundup.... 

3. Film Quality

Season 35 ended on a high note in terms of quality, with the last five films all registering Metascores of 66 or more. The second half of the season as a whole didn't have any films under 50 (although a couple came pretty close).

2. The Dam

The Dam was a very charming little movie that the whole family can enjoy. It isn't perfect, but it was nice.

1. Eidolon

Writer John Malone clearly knows what he's doing with James Bond. Every film has been fantastic. While Eidolon isn't the best of the four films, it is entertaining and exciting for 100% of its running time. I can't wait to see what the franchise brings in Season 40.

3. N/A

2. Unkempt Garden

Unkempt Garden just wasn't for me. I felt like the filmmakers were trying a bit too hard to be austere and award-bait-y. Not terrible, but not for me.

1. Best Actress GRA Race

The last few seasons have mostly bucked the trend of weak leading actress candidates, but it's back in full force this season. It'll be interested to see who ends up with those four nominations though.

On Location (Season 35 Round 10)

 

Unkempt Garden

- Kanazawa, Japan

The Dam
- Northumberland, England, UK

Eidolon

- Cape Town, South Africa

- London, England, UK

- Corsica, France