LAFCA Winners (and other critics organizations)
Sunday, December 9, 2018 at 6:56PM 
The Los Angeles Film Critics Organization is presumably the most crucial in terms of Academy Awards influence since they're the hometown critics of Hollywood and the industry actually hears what they think on a regular basis. This year, like virtually every organization, they threw their weight behind Alfonso Cuarón's Mexican memoir drama Roma. They got idiosyncratic (but smart) in only one category this year, Supporting actor, where they honored Steven Yeun who is remarkable in Burning. Otherwise they underlined actors who are already in the thick of the Oscar discussion. Sadly, two women who really needed their endorsement (Toni Collette and Elizabeth Debicki) were left in "runner up" position, a nice nod in their direction, but not helpful to their causes.
The full list of winners and lists from LAFCA and three other critics orgs who voted today are after the jump. It was a very good day for Olivia Colman, Steven Yeun and Burning, and Roma...
Film Roma (runner up: Burning)
Director Debra Granik, Leave No Trace (runner up: Alfonso Cuarón, Roma)
Actress Olivia Colman, The Favourite (runner up: Toni Collette, Hereditary)
Actor Ethan Hawke, First Reformed (runner up: Ben Foster, Leave No Trace)
Supporting Actress Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk (runner up: Elizabeth Debicki, Widows)
Supporting Actor Steven Yeun, Burning (runner up: Hugh Grant, Paddington 2)
Foreign-Language Film [TIE] Burning (South Korea) and Shoplifters (Japan)
Screenplay Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Cinematography Roma (runner up: If Beale Street Could Talk)
Production Design Black Panther (runner up: The Favourite)
Editing Minding the Gap (runner up: Roma)
Score If Beale Street Could Talk (runner up: First Man)
Animated Film Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse (runner up: Incredibles 2)
Documentary Shirkers (runner up: Minding the Gap)
Experimental Film The Green Fog
New Generation: Chloe Zhao, The Rider
Special Citation: The Other Side of the Wind
Some exciting conclusions and some missed opportunities to honor some runners up. But you can't have everything!
TORONTO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Film Roma
Director Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
Actress Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Actor Ethan Hawke, First Reformed
Supporting Actor Steven Yeun, Burning
Supporting Actress Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Screenplay [TIE] The Favourite and First Reformed
First Feature Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You
Animated Film Isle of Dogs
Documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor?
Foreign Film Burning (South Korea)
Burning was on nearly as much fire as Roma today during what proved to be a crazy intense "critics award" day.
NEW YORK FILM CRITICS ONLINE
Film Roma
Director Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
Actress Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Actor Ethan Hawke, First Reformed
Supporting Actor Richard E Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Supporting Actress Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Screenplay The Favourite
Debut Director Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade
Breakthrough Performance Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade
Cinematography Roma
Animated Film Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse
Documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor?
Ensemble Cast The Favourite
Foreign Film Cold War (Poland)
Use of Music If Beale Street Could Talk
NYFCO's top ten list: BlacKkKlansman, Eighth Grade, The Favourite, First Reformed, Green Book, If Beale Street Could Talk, Leave No Trace, Roma, A Star is Born, and Vice
New York Online gave three prizes to Alfonso Cuarón but at least they showed some real love to Can You Ever Forgive Me as well with two acting wins.
SAN FRANCISCO FILM CRITICS CIRCLE
Film Roma
Director Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman
Actress Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Actor Ethan Hawke, First Reformed
Supporting Actor Michael B Jordan, Black Panther
Supporting Actress Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Adapted Screenplay BlacKkKlansman
Original Screenplay First Reformed
Debut Director Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You
Cinematography Roma
Production Design Black Panther
Editing The Other Side of the Wind
Animated Film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse
Documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor?
Foreign Film Roma
Original Score BlacKkKlansman
Special Citation Underappreciated Indie The Endless
For a second during their voting we thought they would be brave and buck critical groupthink by giving it to BlacKkKlansman since they'd already given Roma foreign film, but nope.
Burning, LAFCA, Los Angeles, Olivia Colman, Roma, film critics
Reader Comments (39)
Debra Granik is a pretty idiosyncratic (and lovely) choice.
Only one category? What about director, screenplay, new generation, documentary? Those all seem like unexpected choices to me.
It seems I picked the right weekend to watch Roma on a huge screen and with the perfect sound.
Not my movie of the year. Why isn't Marina de Tavira up for any awards?
Wow! Every single one of these awards for Best Actor went to Ethan Hawke!
I thought I was the only person who would place Leave No Trace over Roma -- although they are my two favorite films of the year. (With Blindspotting and Sorry to Bother You close behind...I wish the former had been more widely seen. It's brilliant.) I thought Ben Foster gave the male performance of the year -- glad to see someone recognized him.
I just don't get the love for The Favourite (in general) and Colman (in particular). The film is ugly and unpleasant (the duck race notwithstanding) and Colman caterwauls throughout and is almost unwatchable. Ugly and unpleasant isn't disqualifying -- see, e.g., Hereditary, which is somehow riveting, perhaps because it's anchored by fierce lead performances. But in retrospect I wish I had walked out of The Favourite midway through.
Saw "Roma" today - it's very good but I must admit to being somewhat perplexed by how thoroughly it's dominating. I don't at all think it's some kind of undeniable, so-clearly-above-the-rest entity. But groupthink is taking over!
Oh, Philadelphia also announced today. It was, surprise, another big one for "Roma." But also for Viola!
Regina King is slaying it! That's crazy. But she could easily be Laurie Metcalf'd if she isn't careful.
Regina King is a steamroller I can support. I saw Beale street, but haven’t seen many of the other supporting actress contenders (except the Favourites, and I agree that they are leads) so I can’t speak to whether she’s the “best”, though I do think she’s quite good.
She had been beloved but marginal for years. An A+ to her and her agent for the long game of building her TV bona fides, then popping her back into film just when we remembered we loved her and always have. Race plays a role in who becomes prominent and who doesn’t, so I feel like her “career” awards narrative is chipping away at a social ill while also recognizing an under-recognized career. If she wins Oscar I will be glad, regardless of who’s “best”. (She’s my best so far! Just haven’t seen the rest.)
Glenn Close won New Mexico.
How much more interesting these would have been if Ben Foster, Toni Collette and Elizabeth Debicki actually WON instead of being runner-ups.
At least they actually gave Debra Granik a well-deserved award.
Thrilled to see Melissa McCarthy finally on the board - well-deserved.
/3rtful, Glenn Close winning New Mexico at this point is like Marco Rubio winning Puerto Rico in the GOP primary.
The Regina reign just won't let up.
Poor Glenn. Always a bridesmaid.
Ben Foster is the New Sam Rockwell. He will end up winning someday.
Jase-
LOL
Oh shit; Michael B. Jordan just jumped into the fray.
Looks like Glenn Close MIGHT get her Oscar on her 8th attempt. Or will she be remembered like Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton who NEVER won an oscar (except an honorary one).
And Amy Adams is fast catching up with Glenn. If she gets nominated for Vice - that will be her 6th nomination without a win.
Only sure bets right now are Ethan Hawke and Regina King.
And Regina WILL win unless she is involved in some scandal.
So far Best Picture is between Roma, Star is born and maybe Green Book.
Best Director - Cuaron and Cooper
Actor - Ethan Hawke
Actress - Lady Gaga and Glenn Close (but Glenn will HAVE to win the Golden Globe or she is gonna have to wait for nomination 8)
Supporting Actor - M.Ali, Sam Elliott or Michael B Jordan for Black Panther
Supporting Actress - Regina King.
I'm thrilled for Steven Yeun in Burning. That movie has stuck with me way longer than I originally thought it would, and this is the nomination I most want to see happen for Oscar.
Glenn Close winning New Mexico at this point is like Marco Rubio winning Puerto Rico in the GOP primary.
As someone who worked for a campaign against Marco Rubio, I found this hilarious.
The critics from LA, San Francisco, Toronto, and the NY online gang always create interesting choices. Plus, I'm happy for the love that Regina King has been getting.
Maybe it's actually between Colman and McCarthy and Collette for the Oscar. I can think of worse scenarios (all involving Lady Gaga).
Steven Yeun was amazing in Burning, a subtle, charismatic performance. I still smile when I think of his power yawns.
Streep raved about Lady GaGa and A Star is Born recently to Stephen Colbert. She also liked The Rider and First Reformed. GaGa seems unstoppable.
I just don't understand why Glenn isn't making any foothill at all...
Glenn was great in The Wife but the flashbacks were really amateurish and harmed the film as a whole. She was amazing in it but I feel that's why she isn't showing up in the critic's awards.
Glenn isn't showing up in the critics awards because her overdue story isn't as strong as we thought. A few years back, the critics all were likely very familiar with a bunch of Julianne Moore films. I bet a lot of them might know Fatal Attraction and Dangerous Liaisons at most. We forget that Glenn hasn't acted in a lot of films recently, and they've pretty much not been seen by anybody. It's probably a miracle that she's going to get a nom at all.
Agree plusThe Wife is a basic Lifetime movie. Her character only awakens in the last 30 minutes of the film. The movie is a slog to sit through.
Two lucky breaks for McCarthy!! She must be heaving a huge sign o relief after the Gotham n Indie Spirits snubs.
I believe she n Collette is neck to neck for the 5th spot now after Blunt, Close, Colman n Gaga.
Close may not b getting critics luv so far but so is Gaga (NBR is not a critics win). It all boils down to who is gonna win the GG n SAG. Those critics prizes dun really hav much bearing on the ultimate winner. Juz ask Hawkins n Ronan who won the lion's share o critics luv last yr.
The Wife isn't getting traction in any other categories, so if you haven't seen it yet, you're *only* watching it to see Glenn Close's performance. I can imagine a lot of people are thinking "meh, why bother?" The other Best Actress nominees are in films that have other nominations so you end up swept along with Colman or Gaga or McCarthy.
I told y'all back in September when she won her third Emmy that Regina King would soon be an Oscar winner, but I don't think y'all believed me. The thing about character actors is that they tend to work more frequently which means they tend to work with more people which means they tend to store up lots of good will which tends to become steamroller support when they find the right role in the right film, even for worse (think Rockwell in Three Billboards). King has a thirty-plus year career which encompasses both television and film, and considering how much the two bleed into each other nowadays, it seems almost silly to have bet against her in retrospect.
Just to voice what looks to be a minority view. I think The Wife is one of the best films of the year. If I ruled the world (which SPOILER ALERT I don't) The Wife would be in the conversation for Best Film, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography, Score and Jonathan Pryce would be a front runner for Supporting Actor. And, of course, Glenn Close's win for Best Actress would be a foregone conclusion. Sadly, this isn't the case.
I don't see this "unstoppable Gaga" narrative people are peddling.
The only competitive award that separates her from Glenn right now is the NBR, right?
How many of these does Hawke have to steamroll before people discuss the possibility of him winning?
Hawke will be nominated, but winning ends with critics awards. He didn't even get nominated at the Globes.
This happens every year. Some people continue from the critics awards to televised, and some don't. Just because someone is the critical darling doesn't mean they're going onto Oscar.
Same goes for Regina King. I could actually see her winning, but if Amy Adams proves competition so they can finally get her named checked off, I wouldn't be surprised at all.
No Green Book for LAFCA! Interesting. Maaaaaybe it's not as loved in LA as it is elsewhere, which could be a good thing. It really doesn't deserve anything beyond acting nominations (although Ali committing category fraud is not cool).
After watching Green Book I really thought Viggo would win...but I wonder if Ethan Hawke could bypass the Globes snub and win. He's the critic's choice, which is a bit disappointing because You Were Never Really Here is the best thing of the year, but Hawke is deserving, tho I mist must rewatch the film. Still think Mortenson may take it.
Also, disappointed that amidst the love for Sorry To Bother You and (especially) Eight Grade, the superior Blindspotting is left behind. A great film. Also, The Rider? These are great great films.
Side note...a lot of female directors in the thick of it this year...pretty cool.
@ken s.
Agree with you completely as regards The Wife and it's not just because Glenn Close was in it. But Pryce, even Starke, Jocelyn Pook's lovely score (very Gorecki) and screenplay are beautifully done. I heard criticisms that the film was too quiet, too Lifetime-y, and yes boring. I don't share that view but that doesn't mean I am right. I just know what I like and based on subjective comparisons with other films. Glenn Close's work here is strong and will stand the test of time even if an Oscar award will probably be elusive to her and for this performance.