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:
From an overall perspective, Season 29 was a bit of a struggle for Last Resort Films. It was one of the least profitable seasons in the studio’s history, with a last second boost from Spider-Man to help salvage things.
But it’s not all bad. Murder Mysteries set the high watermark for the season for critics back in Round 3. When nominations came in, it also notched the most for the season with nine. This puts it in prime position for the last two awards of the night, especially with John Malone’s enduring GRA legacy. A Best Picture win would be a recording-setting eleventh for the legendary writer.
The main intrigue will be to see if it can overcome the fact that all of its main competitors have been released since the halfway point in the season. It has been no secret that early season releases tend to struggle more at the GRAs, although it could be argued that Murder Mysteries has already moved past that with its nominations.
The trio of crime films that fill out the Best Picture roster all have their merits. Five Boroughs has the star power of its writers (Malone and Jimmy Ellis) and directors (the Safdies), plus the ever-likable Adam Sandler on the campaign trail. The Dogs of Winter shares similar strengths, aiming to be Chad Taylor’s tenth Best Picture win (which would tie him with Malone). And Starkweather, the most recent of the bunch, has both the respectability of Lon Charles and the raw energy of its young stars. Keep an eye out for that one to potentially play the spoiler.
Speaking of the youth movement, nowhere is that clearer than in the Best Actress category. Outside of Zoe Saldana, the other nominees are 24-, 23-, and 22-years old. In Best Supporting Actress, only one nominee is older than 30.
I’m going to use this last portion of the storylines to segue into the snubs because there’s one in particular worthy of its own spot. The Champ coming away with just two nominations is something of a head-scratcher, especially when you consider that’s just one non-soundtrack nomination (Affleck in Best Actor). The film was well-received by critics, a hit at the box office, and the type of movie awards shows typically eat up. More than anything, it seems like a victim of circumstances as the odd man out in a crowd of five top contenders.
The Surprises & Snubs:
Snub: Isabelle Huppert, Lili Reinhart, Sandra Bullock - While the Best Actress field doesn’t have incredibly high highs this season, there were a few performances left on the outside that I found surprising. For Huppert and Reinhart, it didn’t help that their films just didn’t seem to have much support at this year’s GRAs.
Surprise: The Crow: Midnight Garden - A well-deserved surprise to see this film pop up in two of the prime categories, Best Actress and Best Adapation. While it doesn’t have the best odds in either of those, it helps boost Jack Brown’s profile as the “It” name in the genre world of LRF.
Snub: Gabriella Sengos - While it would’ve been a surprise to see her earn a Supporting Actress nomination for her role in The Champ, I could’ve easily seen her landing a Starting Couple nomination with Ben Affleck.
Surprise: Sean Durkin - It is great to see Durkin in this Best Director field. The reason that it’s a slight surprise is because he got in over bigger names like Damien Chazelle and the Safdie Brothers (who are coming off of a Best Director win just two seasons ago).
Snub: Samara Weaving - Between Downey, McConaughey, and Sandler, this is one of LRF’s most star-studded Best Villain fields ever. But if Weaving wasn’t going to get a Best Actress nomination, it would’ve been nice to at least see her get a shout here.
Previous Winners:
Ben Affleck & Sam Rockwell - Affleck has five GRA trophies on his mantle, while Rockwell isn't far behind him with four of his own, so these two know their way around the GRA venue by now.
Denis Villeneuve - With two GRA Best Director trophies and two additional nominations, Villeneuve may be the most decorated director with a last name other than Refn or Nolan.
Robert Downey Jr. - RDJ may not have any Best Villain wins to his resume yet, but he did win three GRA trophies last season alone in the Best Ensemble Cast, Best Supporting Actor and Best Starring Couple categories, so he certainly knows the taste of victory.
Toby Wallace - Wallace burst onto the scene with a couple of nominations in Season 22's Black Hole, but his one GRA victory came a few seasons later as the Best Villain in Batgirl. With his dual nominations for Five Boroughs, could John Malone have found his next Alden Ehrenreich?
Joey King, Elle Fanning & Rooney Mara - All of these actresses have major GRA trophy victories to their name (and even more nominations), but interestingly enough none of their victories are for the categories them find themselves nominated in this season.
Previous Nominees:
Adam Driver, Jacob Elordi & Sean Penn - All three have some GRA cred through previous nominations, but none of the trio have managed to take home a solo GRA trophy.
David Fincher - Fincher has attended three GRA ceremonies as a nominated director and yet to go home with a trophy. This season he may have his best odds yet, but he has some steep competition.
Antony Starr - Starr is going into the ceremony with his second Best Villain nomination. Of the four nominees in the category, he is the only one with Best Villain nominee experience.
Jared Leto - Many believe Leto was snubbed back in Season 24 when he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Natural Selection. Could voters make up for that season's GRA outcome with a win this season?
Sadie Sink - Sink may have a GRA trophy for Best Ensemble Cast, she is more known these days for now garnering her 4th Best Actress nomination in her last four films. Could she finally get over that hump this season?
The Newcomers:
Darren Aronofsky & Sean Durkin - Both directors earn their first GRA nominations - Aronofsky in his sixth project, Durkin in his first.
Mia Goth, Zoe Saldana & Sophie Thatcher - Goth and Thatcher both manage to earn GRA nominations for their debut LRF appearances. Saldana, meanwhile, has an extensive LRF resume, appearing in 11 films since her debut in Season 3, and is just now gaining her first GRA nomination.
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