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
We arrive at season’s end with two films sitting atop the GRA leaderboard with ten nominations each. The first, Gray, was the main subject of my mid-season check-in. The film did not seem to lose any sort of momentum despite being released in the first half. It has joined the rare company of having an actor nominated in all four main categories; this is actually the third time Roy Horne has accomplished this feat, having previously done so with Wish You Were Here (Season 20) and Open Hearts (Season 22).
The same questions remain when it comes to the ultimate taste of the GRA voting body. While undeniably a well-made film, will its NC-17 rating be a hindrance in winning the biggest awards? And how about Chalamet? He has had a relatively hit-and-miss career path at LRF to this point, so can he finally shake off some of that baggage to finally win his first Best Actor trophy. For a film that is seemingly sitting in pole position, these questions remain fascinating to consider.
In the other corner, we have the season’s final release: The Chain. This makes for an intriguing competitor to Gray because its starring pair—Joe Keery and Sydney Sweeney—owe a large part of their LRF success to Gray writer Roy Horne, who wrote each major leading roles that fit their skill set. As if their was any doubt, this Best Picture race has solidified Horne as the preeminent hitmaker when it comes to catapulting young talent.
While its late season release date means it is very fresh in people’s minds, The Chain is not without its question marks. Diane Esposito’s previous two music biopics (Songbird and Material Girl) were both nominated for Best Picture, yet only came away with the Best Soundtrack award. Are voters hesitant to award the top prize to a music biopic? The popular genre has never broken through at the GRAs, but nothing says The Chain can’t be the first.
Another storyline I will be keeping an eye out for is Pirouette, which has now quietly become a dark horse candidate behind some of the flashier contenders. Like both of those other films, Pirouette is well-represented in the acting categories and I think those awards are going to tell us a lot about the momentum of the night overall. If the Jimmy Ellis-John Malone ballet drama picks up some key victories there, it could make a compelling case for becoming the front-runner for Best Picture.
Lastly, another category that catches my eye is Best Actor, where we have surely one of the youngest crop of nominees in that category ever. Jonathan Bailey at 38 is somehow the elderstatesman of the group. It’s a real who’s who of up-and-coming male stars and could really send one of those actors into the next level of stardom.
Returning Winners:
Sydney Sweeney - By now, the starlet’s journey is one of LRF’s most widely known success stories. She is a two-time Best Actress winner for her roles in the Poison Ivy films, aiming to become the first three-time winner in the award’s history. This is a major storyline to watch.
Suki Waterhouse - Competing against her is fellow winner Waterhouse, whose first Best Actress win came all the way back in Season 3 for her portrayal of Edie Sedgewick in Femme Fatale…
Jared Leto - …which she starred in alongside Leto, whose performance of Andy Warhol was nominated but did not win. He has now been nominated for Best Supporting Actor a record four times, breaking his tie with Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, and Jeremy Irons at three. He has won once for Murder Mysteries in Season 29.
Russell Crowe - Crowe has quietly been building a hall of fame career at LRF, including three previous wins in the Best Villain category. However, he has yet to win Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor despite four previous nominations.
Toby Kebbell - Meanwhile, fellow Best Villain winner Toby Kebbell (We Still Know Where You Live) is receiving his first nomination in one of the main two male acting categories.
Christina Hendricks - Hendricks is no stranger to GRA gold, having won Best Actress twice (The Question: The End, Misfit) and the Golden Reel of Achievement in Season 20. This marks Hendricks’s first appearance in LRF in nearly 20 seasons, having last been seen in a cameo role in Season 17’s Justice League Dark. Welcome back, Christina!
Returning Nominees:
Timothee Chalamet - The A-list star is one of LRF’s most prolific actors, with Gray marking his 23rd appearance at the studio. He has just one individual acting nomination before, coming in Season 31 with Hideaway.
Luca Guadagnino - Alongside Chalamet is his Gray director, who also had his only nomination for Hideaway. Gray marks his eighth film for the studio, making him one of the busiest directors at LRF.
Brady Corbet - Guadagnino will be competing against another former nominee in the Best Director category, as Corbet was previously nominated back in Season 33 for Best Picture winner Splendour.
Carey Mulligan - The Heartbeat nominee has twice been nominated for Best Actress, but those previous nominations came back in Seasons 4 and 5 for The Price of Fame and A Farewell to Arms.
Johnny Depp - Depp has been nominated for Best Actor three times (Rasputin, The Sandman, The Diplomat); could his first try for Best Supporting Actor get him his first Golden Reel Award?
Saoirse Ronan - Saoirse is a two-time GRA nominee, with her previous noms coming for Amelie and The Driftwood Populace.
Uma Thurman - Thurman is also competing for her first GRA after having previously been nominated for Caesar.
Emma Mackey - Rounding things out, the emerging star now has three nominations after having previously been nominated for Time Out! and The House of Black. Could a win here solidify her as a major star at LRF?
The Newcomers:
Joe Keery - LRF’s Starman makes his debut at the Golden Reel Awards as one of the leading contenders for Best Actor.
Charlotte Wells, Maiwenn - These two Best Director nominees were nominated for their respective directing debuts at the studio.
Glen Powell - The Fletch star has only been nominated a part of ensembles before. This marks his first individual GRA nomination.
Jonathan Bailey - And rounding out that list is Bailey, who has been steadily increasing his visibility at the studio since his debut in Season 27.
Monica Barbaro - The Pirouette star drew rave reviews from critics in what was only her second LRF appearance, after AVP: The Long War.
Best Villain - All four nominees here are making their first GRA appearance; it was for Timothy Olyphant’s tenth LRF film, Javier Bardem’s seventh, Tom Hopper’s fourth, and Matthias Schweighofer’s second.
.png)
.png)
