It was clear that the Broadcast Film Critics loved La La Land; they gave it the most nominations of any film with 12, and ended up winning eight including the top prizes: Picture and Director while picking up a lot of the below the line prizes in Editing, Production Design and Cinematography. Many have predicted La La Land will sweep in a similar fashion at the Oscars. And while it’s true the Broadcast critics don’t vote on the Oscars, they are more predictive and align more accurately with the Oscars than any other precursor group, including the Globes and even Screen Actors Guild (sometimes).
Where La La Land missed out, however, was in Best Actress which surprisingly went to Natalie Portman. After suffering from missed citations from recent critics groups, Portman roared back into the race and Jackie picked up additional awards in Costumes and Hair & Makeup. Only two actresses in the past 6 years that have won this award missed out on winning the Oscar; though many were quick to declare this a cakewalk for Emma Stone, it’s clear Best Actress is still a two woman race.
The other two frontrunners, Moonlight and Manchester By The Sea, had their moments as well. Mahershala Ali won yet another trophy for Supporting Actor with the cast winning the group’s ensemble prize. Casey Affleck beat out his biggest competition in Denzel Washington for Best Actor, while Kenneth Lonergan tied in Original Screenplay with Damien Chazelle’s screenplay for La La Land. After winning some notices with the critics, Michelle Williams lost Supporting Actress to Viola Davis, who has begun what I suspect will be a clean sweep of the televised awards. Look out for her next conquest: the Golden Globes (nominations are announced tomorrow).
Read the full list of (film) winners below.
Best Picture: La La Land
Best Director: Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Best Actor: Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea
Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Jackie
Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis, Fences
Best Young Actor/Actress: Lucas Hedges, Manchester By The Sea
Best Acting Ensemble: Moonlight
Best Adapted Screenplay: Eric Heisserer, Arrival
Best Original Screenplay: TIE! Damien Chazelle, La La Land & Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The Sea
Best Cinematography: Linus Sandgren, La La Land
Best Production Design: David Wasco & Sandy Reynolds-Wasco, La La Land
Best Editing: Tom Cross, La La Land
Best Costume Design: Madeline Fontaine, Jackie
Best Hair & Makeup: Jackie
Best Visual Effects: The Jungle Book
For the rest of the winners (Comedy, Action, etc) head over to Variety.