Casting Society and ACE "Eddie" Nominations
Tuesday, January 3, 2017 at 6:53PM Two branches of movie craftsmen have sounded off now in what will soon be a deluge of guild announcements. The casting directors and the editors have spoken and they've rallied behind some Best Picture hopefuls (the three frontrunners: La La Land, Manchester by the Sea, and Moonlight are showing up everywhere) and passionate fanbase movies (20th Century Women, Deadpool, Captain Fantastic) ...and 'oh, they remembered that!' surprises (Hail, Caesar!).
CASTING SOCIETY OF AMERICA NOMINATIONS
Big Budget Comedy:
DEADPOOL – Ronna Kress, Jennifer Page (Location Casting), Corinne Clark (Location Casting)
HAIL, CAESAR! – Ellen Chenoweth, Susanne Scheel (Associate)
LA LA LAND – Deborah Aquila, Tricia Wood
RULES DON'T APPLY – David Rubin, Melissa Pryor (Associate)
WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT – Bernard Telsey, Tiffany Little Canfield, Jo Edna Boldin (Location Casting), Conrad Woolfe (Associate), Marie A.K. McMaster (Associate)
We're not mad at these nominations -- probably because we haven't fully worked out what else was eligible -- but doesn't Rules Don't Apply feel strange here since the cast looked just like a "Warren Beatty called in a bunch of favors," clip reel. Also color us surprised to see Whiskey Tango Foxtrot because with the guilds you just never know what they've been watching! Even films that came out really early in the year that you didn't realize people cared about but there they are.
La La Land feels a bit strange as a nomination though since it's so two character focused and nothing else about it pops (and those two actors had already proved their seismic chemistry twice earlier. Also La La Land is NOT a comedy, but a musical romantic drama -- there's no musical in the title of this category as there is with the Globes
Big Budget – Drama
ARRIVAL – Francine Maisler, Lucie Robitaille (Location Casting)
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM – Fiona Weir, Jim Carnahan (Location Casting)
HIDDEN FIGURES – Victoria Thomas, Jackie Burch (Location Casting), Bonnie Grisan (Associate)
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS – Francine Maisler
THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN – Kerry Barden, Paul Schnee, Joey Montenarello (Associate), Adam Richards (Associate)
The Girl on the Train? Is this just going to start showing up at Guild prizes even though it was critically savaged. The casting in particular on this one seemed a particularly odd thing to honor about it since only Emily Blunt really took the opportunity to run with the roles given.
In a just world among these five nominations for casting alone, Hidden Figures would win by a unanimous margin of their thousands of members. But this is the only nice thing you'll ever hear me say about Nocturnal Animals. The casting was kind of mean-clever... especially with that Isla Fisher as a mildly insulting stand-in for Amy Adams joke.
Studio or Independent – Comedy
2OTH CENTURY WOMEN – Laura Rosenthal, Mark Bennett
BAD MOMS – Cathy Sandrich Gelfond, Meagan Lewis (Location Casting)
CAFE SOCIETY – Juliet Taylor, Patricia DiCerto, Meghan Rafferty (Associate)
HELL OR HIGH WATER – Richard Hicks, Jo Edna Boldin, Chris Redondo (Associate), Marie A.K. McMaster (Associate)
THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN – Melissa Kostenbauder, Coreen Mayrs (Location Casting), Heike Brandstatter (Location Casting)
Wise choices. Respectable choices. Cool choices. And no brainer choices from every angle (Hello, 20th Century Women!) BUT WAIT... HELL OR HIGH WATER AS A COMEDY? never mind this is truly and utterly embarrassing on the part of the Casting Society and they should probably just burn the whole place down right now. Category titles exist for a reason. Play within your own rules or you just make yourself a laughing stock!
Studio or Independent – Drama
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC – Jeanne McCarthy, Angelique Midthunder (Location Casting), Amey Rene (Location Casting)
JACKIE – Mary Vernieu, Lindsay Graham, Jessica Kelly (Location Casting)
LION – Kirsty McGregor
LOVING – Francine Maisler, Erica Arvold (Location Casting), Anne N. Chapman (Location Casting), Michelle Kelly (Associate)
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA – Douglas Aibel, Carolyn Pickman (Location Casting), Henry Russell Bergstein (Associate)
Remember that embarrassing moment when the Critics Choice gave Viggo a "Comedy Actor" nomination for Captain Fantastic to prove that they hadn't even watched the movie but just its whimsical commercials? It's back in drama where it belongs. Strong choices for the whole field here, films which lived or died on their casting choices... but mostly lived and how.
I realize that this category is their "Oscar Equivalent" but I still think the editing of A Bigger Splash is a thing of shockingly sensual and intuitive beauty.
Low Budget – Comedy or Drama
CHRISTINE – Douglas Aibel, Stephanie Holbrook, Tracy Kilpatrick (Location Casting), Blair Foster (Associate)
GOAT – Susan Shopmaker, D. Lynn Meyers (Location Casting)
HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS – Sunday Boling, Meg Morman
MOONLIGHT – Yesi Ramirez
WHITE GIRL – Jessica Daniels
White Girl & Christine? It's always a wonder when it seems an awards body has thought a nomination out for itself rather than just piggybacking on larger awards buzz. Overall interesting choices again nearly across the board.
Give Yesi Ramirez not just this prize but the Nobel and the Pulitzer and the Heisman for casting Moonlight, won't you?
Animation
FINDING DORY – Kevin Reher, Natalie Lyon
MOANA – Jamie Sparer Roberts, Rachel Sutton (Location Casting)
THE JUNGLE BOOK – Sarah Halley Finn, Tamara Hunter (Associate)
THE LITTLE PRINCE – Sarah Halley Finn, Tamara Hunter (Associate)
ZOOTOPIA – Jamie Sparer Roberts
Casting citations for animated films always make me so uncomfortable due to the industry-wide trend of casting by "as many celebrities as possible!" edicts rather than "find the best voice for the role" mottos. So big props to Moana here for casting with racial appropriate non-famous actors (outside of The Rock, who was still racially appropriate)
Do you think the Casting Society did well here? Where would your votes differ?
AMERICAN CINEMA EDITORS NOMINATIONS
Feature Film Dramatic
ARRIVAL Joe Walker, ACE
HACKSAW RIDGE John Gilbert, ACE
HELL OR HIGH WATER Jake Roberts
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA Jennifer Lame
MOONLIGHT Nat Sanders, Joi McMillon
Your Oscar lineup minus one of these in favor of La La Land, but which one?
Feature Film Comedy
DEADPOOL Julian Clarke, ACE
HAIL, CAESAR! Roderick Jaynes
THE JUNGLE BOOK Mark Livolsi, ACE
LA LA LAND Tom Cross, ACE
THE LOBSTER Yorgos Mavropsaridis
100% not okay with the omission of 20th Century Women, which gets so beautiful cumulative catharsis through its diversions and montages, and still frame collections. Nice call on The Lobster which is beautifully crafted and always only itself, even in its rhythms and cuts.
Is it just me or should they actually have a "Feature Film, Action" category since editing is such a key component of action movies but unlikely to be considered in the "Oscar" categories.
Feature Film Animated
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS Christopher Murrie, ACE
MOANA Jeff Draheim, ACE
ZOOTOPIA Fabienne Rawley & Jeremy Milton
These three are clearly the competitors for the Oscar win... but what will the other two nominees be?
Feature Film Documentary
13TH Spencer Averick
AMANDA KNOX Matthew Hamachek
THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK - THE TOURING YEARS Paul Crowder
OJ: MADE IN AMERICA Bret Granato, Maya Mumma & Ben Sozanski
WEINER Eli B. Despres
Broken Record but I'm just going to keep being mad that OJ Made in America shows up in this category when there are other categories SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR IT. I'm not mad at it (I have no reason to believe it's less than brilliant but I have no time for an 8 hour television documentary miniseries in the heat of Oscar series) but just mad at the game.
Television Documentary
The Choice 2016 Steve Audette, ACE
Everything is Copy Bob Eisenhart, ACE
We Will Rise: Michelle Obama’s Mission to Educate Girls Around the World Oliver Lief
Television Half-Hour Series
Silicon Valley: “The Uptick” Brian Merken, ACE
Veep: “Morning After” Steven Rasch, ACE
Veep: “Mother” Shawn Paper
Television One Hour Series (w/ Commercials)
Better Call Saul: “Fifi” Skip Macdonald, ACE
Better Call Saul: “Klick” Skip Macdonald, ACE & Curtis Thurber
Better Call Saul: “Nailed” Kelley Dixon, ACE & Chris McCaleb
Mr. Robot: “eps2.4m4ster-s1ave.aes” Philip Harrison
This is Us: “Pilot” David L. Bertman, ACE
Do you think the Editors watch Better Call Saul? Kidding. But here's a genuine question: why do they distinguish between hour long series with and without commercials for prizes but view editing for commercials and editing without them to be the same exact challenge?
One Hour Series, (without commercials)
The Crown: “Assassins” Yan Miles, ACE
Game of Thrones: “Battle of the Bastards” Tim Porter, ACE
Stranger Things: “Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers” Dean Zimmerman
Stranger Things: “Chapter Seven: The Bathtub” Kevin D. Ross
Westworld: “The Original” Stephen Semel, ACE & Marc Jozefowicz
Miniseries or Motion Picture, Television
All the Way Carol Littleton, ACE
The Night Of: “The Beach” Jay Cassidy, ACE
The People V. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia” Adam Penn, Stewart Schill, ACE & C. Chi-yoon Chung
Non Scripted Series
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown: “Manila” Hunter Gross, ACE
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown: "Senegal" Mustafa Bhagat
Deadliest Catch: “Fire at Sea: Part 2” Josh Earl, ACE & Alexander Rubinow, ACE
I don't watch Anthony Bourdain but for those that do is it twice as well edited as the hundreds of other non-scripted series on television?
Reader Comments (11)
That HELL OR HIGH WATER casting citation is so dumb for a film that smart.
And no CAMERAPERSON for documentary? What bozo made that choice.
Glenn -- but they have to have room for the television miniseries in "feature film" so no room for brilliantly edited features like Cameraperson.
Cameraperson should be contending with Moonlight for the Editing Oscar.
Agree the 20th Century Women omission at the Eddies is criminal!
I think the Oscar lineup is La La Land, Moonlight, Manchester, Hacksaw Ridge and Hell or High Water, with Arrival missing the cut
The Jungle Book is a Comedy? What the hell?
That Hell or Highwater thing is baffling, and that's coming from someone who thought the whole "The Martian in musical/comedy" thing was defensible. Well cast movie though, lots of interesting faces populating it.
Most important news: The Bening is getting a special tribute at Casting Society awards.
I am guessing Arrival gets the drop for the Editing Oscar - Hacksaw Ridge seems to be climbing steadily right now. Currently Predicting:
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Manchester
Moonlight
I'm with MJS - I don't understand Hell or High Water being in the conversation for best editing. Casting, sure - but editing?
I'm honestly baffled that someone couldn't easily understand why "Captain Fantastic" might be considered a comedy. I would absolutely categorize it that way, myself, but I don't remotely see how the distinction isn't unclear to begin with. Dramedy is as far as I would go.
A Shame Sally Field found no traction this year.