HCA's MidSeason Awards

by Nathaniel R

Hello readers. Can you believe we're halfway through 2023? We feel like it's barely started (probably because we live by such an Oscar season calendar) but it's already time to assess the first half of 2023's cinematic output. A few members of The Film Experience belong to The Hollywood Critics Association. The HCA does a midseason awards in several categories and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was the big winner taking three prizes. The nominees and winners are after the jump with a few comments. That said, I won't comment too very much right now since my own "halfway mark" articles are coming next weekend (trying to cram in 10 more movies - yikes), so the opinions can wait for that...

Best Picture 

• Air (Amazon Studios)
• Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (Lionsgate)
• Asteroid City (Focus Features)
• BlackBerry (IFC Films)
• Creed III (MGM)
• Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Paramount Pictures)
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Walt Disney Pictures)
• John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate)
• Past Lives (A24)
• WINNER: Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)

As you'll see throughout the nominations, the choices are extremely mainstream. 

Best Actor

• Joaquin Phoenix - Beau Is Afraid (A24)
• WINNER: Matt Damon - Air (Amazon Studios)
• Michael B. Jordan - Creed III (MGM)
• Taron Egerton- Tetris (Apple TV+)
• Teo Yoo - Past Lives (A24)

Best Actress

• Abby Ryder Fortson - Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (Lionsgate)
• WINNER: Greta Lee - Past Lives (A24)
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus - You Hurt My Feelings (A24)
• Mia Goth - Infinity Pool (Neon) 
• Teyana Taylor - A Thousand and One (Focus Features)

Best Supporting Actor

• Ben Affleck - Air (Amazon Studios)
• Chris Messina - Air (Amazon Studios)
• WINNER: Glenn Howerton - BlackBerry (IFC Films)
• Jason Momoa - Fast X (Universal Pictures)
• John Magaro - Past Lives (A24)

Best Supporting Actress

• Kathy Bates - Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (Lionsgate)
• Patti LuPone - Beau Is Afraid (A24)
• Rachel McAdams - Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (Lionsgate)
• Scarlett Johansson - Asteroid City (Focus Features)
• WINNER: Viola Davis - Air (Amazon Studios)

Best Director

• Ben Affleck - Air (Amazon Studios)
• Celine Song - Past Lives (A24)
• Chad Stahelski - John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate)
• WINNER: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson - Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)
• Kelly Fremon Craig - Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (Lionsgate)

Best Stunts

• Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Paramount Pictures)
• Extraction 2 (Netflix)
• Fast X (Universal Pictures)
• WINNER: John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate)
• Polite Society (Focus Features)

Best Screenplay

• Alex Convery - Air (Amazon Studios)
• WINNER: Celine Song - Past Lives (A24)
• Kelly Fremon Craig - Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (Lionsgate)
• Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Dave Callaham - Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)
• Wes Anderson - Asteroid City (Focus Features)

Best Horror Film

• Evil Dead Rise (Warner Bros)
• Infinity Pool (Neon)
• Knock at the Cabin (Universal Pictures)
• WINNER: M3GAN (Universal Pictures)
• Scream VI (Paramount Pictures)

Best Indie Film

• A Thousand and One (Focus Features)
• BlackBerry (IFC Films)
• WINNER: Past Lives (A24)
• Rye Lane (Searchlight)
• You Hurt My Feelings (A24)

Most Anticipated Film For The Second Half of 2023

• WINNER: Barbie (Warner Bros)
• Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros)
• Killers Of The Flower Moon (Apple TV+)
• Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (Paramount Pictures)
• Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures)

The Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) was established in 2016 with one goal in mind: to highlight and elevate diverse and underrepresented voices within the world of entertainment criticism and journalism. Since its inception, the HCA has made history as the most diverse group of critics in the country celebrating groundbreaking entertainment, visionary storytellers, and incomparable artists that reflect today’s multifaceted global audiences. The current HCA membership is comprised of 176 critics and entertainment journalists who represent a new era in Hollywood. 

For additional information about The Hollywood Critics Association, please visit: HollywoodCriticsAssociation.com or follow us on social media: 

#HCAFilmAwards

#HCAMidseasonAwards

#HCATVAwards

Comments

[thevoid99]

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse deserves... ALL OF THE AWARDS!!!!

[Ryan T.]

It'd be really heartening if A24 can maneuver PAST LIVES for awards season. They have the skills and the quality is certainly there. We'll see!

How do we all feel after SPIDER-VERSE for Best Picture campaign? We going there yet? I would support it 100%.

I think the only films I think are missing would be SANCTUARY and OF AN AGE.

[Mike in Canada]

Silly to look for much meaning in an organization's mid-season batch, but I'm loving seeing Mia Goth here, who's hysterical (in every since) in Infinity Pool, and Teo Yoo, who could be easy to overlook, but does a lot to relay his constant outsider discomfort in Past Lives.

[thevoid99]

I'm totally onboard for Across the Spider-Verse for Best Picture.

[Edwin]

Spider-Verse is really the only movie released so far this year (not including festival screenings) that I think has a real shot at a Best Picture nomination, so it’s not surprising to see it come out on top here. Last year there were three movies from the first half of the year that made the Best Picture lineup (including the winner), so it’s a little disheartening that the first-half slate this year is comparatively weak. At the moment, I think Spider-Verse is already a near-lock to win Best Animated Feature and could easily show up in Adapted Screenplay, Sound, and Picture too (although I still maintain it’s nowhere near a lock yet for the latter), but aside from maybe Air showing up in some places, I don’t expect to see much from the first half of the year represented in the nominations next year.

[poppy miklas]

In the brand-new horror game poppy playtime chapter 2, you'll be alone in a huge toy factory while a scary beast chases you. Will you be ready for this trip? Start right away and have fun!