The latest, acclaimed films from Noah Baumbach and Quentin Tarantino are the big nominees for the Houston Film Critics Society's 13th annual awards, which were announced on Sunday, December 15.
Marriage Story, Baumbach's semi-autobiographical look at the dissolution of a marriage, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Tarantino's epic love letter to '60s-era Tinseltown, are nominated for for six awards, including Best Picture. (Hollywood is also nominated for Best Movie Poster Art.)
1917, The Farewell, The Irishman, and Parasite are nominated for five awards, including Best Picture. Rounding out the Best Picture category are Knives Out, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, and Uncut Gems.
Due to the close voting for nominations, the HFCS has six nominees for Best Actress this year, instead of five: Charlize Theron (Bombshell), Awkwafina (The Farewell), Renee Zellweger (Judy), Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story), Saoirse Ronan (Little Women), and Lupita Nyong'o (Us).
Nominated for Best Actor are Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Adam Driver (Marriage Story), Eddie Murphy (Dolemite is My Name), Joaquin Phoenix (Joker), and Adam Sandler (Uncut Gems). The HFCS will once again honor films made in Texas with the nominees for the Texas Independent Film Awards (TIFA). This year's films are Bull, Building the American Dream, Nothing Stays the Same: The Story of the Saxon Pub, Seadrift and Sleeping in Plastic.
“We’re a passionate, adventurous group,” says HFCS president Doug Harris. “This list of nominees represents the thousands of screening hours our members have devoted to uncovering the year’s most distinctive films so that we can bring the best of cinema from around the world to the audiences we serve.”
Winners in all 18 categories will be presented on Thursday, January 2, 2020, at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. B-movie legend Roger Corman will be honored with a lifetime achievement award and Ellyn Needham, wife of the late filmmaker/stuntman Hal Needham, will present the inaugural award for Best Stunt Coordination Team.
An after-party, open to all awards ticket holders at no additional charge, will be staged in the Ultimate Ransom Room at the Hotel ZaZa Houston Museum District. For more information, visit the event site.
Best Motion Picture
1917
Knives Out
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Marriage Story
Parasite
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
The Irishman
The Farewell
Uncut Gems
Best Director of a Motion Picture
Bong Joon Ho, Parasite
Sam Mendes, 1917
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Lulu Wang, The Farewell
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Eddie Murphy, Dolemite is My Name
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role *
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Awkwafina, The Farewell
Renee Zellweger, Judy
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Lupita Nyong'o, Us
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role *
Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
Florence Pugh, Little Women
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell
Best Screenplay
Knives Out
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite
The Farewell
Best Animated Feature
Frozen II
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
I Lost My Body
Missing Link
Toy Story 4
Best Cinematography
1917
Joker
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite
The Irishman
Best Foreign Language Film *
Atlantics
Corpus Christi
Les Miserables
Monos
Pain & Glory
Parasite
Best Documentary Feature *
American Factory
Apollo 11
Biggest Little Farm
For Sama
Hail Satan?
They Shall Not Grow Old
Best Original Score
1917
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
Us
Best Original Song *
"Glasgow," Wild Rose
"Home to You," The Aeronauts
"I Punched Keanu Reeves," Always Be My Maybe
"(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again," Rocketman
"Into the Unknown," Frozen II
"Stand Up," Harriet
Best Visual Effects
1917
Ad Astra
Avengers: Endgame
Best Stunt Coordination Team
Crawl
Ford v Ferrari
Furie
John Wick: Chapter 3-Parabellum
Shadow
Best Movie Poster Art
Birds of Passage
John Wick: Chapter 3-Parabellum
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Once Upon a Time in...Hollywood
Parasite
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Texas Independent Film Award Nominees
Bull
Building the American Dream
Nothing Stays the Same: The Story of the Saxon Pub
Seadrift
Sleeping in Plastic
* Based on a tie in voting results, these categories include six nominees.
