***Updated 2/25/19: Title spelling corrections, added omitted category, added omitted nominee for cinematography, added hyperlinks***
Since all awards and “Best-Of” lists are at least a bit pretentious, let’s start with the fun stuff.
🏆 – indicates likely Academy Pick 🐎 – indicates Academy darkhorse
Most Original Movie
Directed by & Screenplay by Boots Riley
Starring: LaKeith Stanfield and Tessa Thompson
Weirdest Movie
Directed by & Screenplay by Paul Schrader, Starring: Ethan Hawke and Amanda Seyfried
Runner Up:
Directors: Aaron Moorhead & Justin Benson, Writer: Justin Benson
Starring: Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson
Most Interesting Foreign Film
Directed by & Screenplay by Coralie Fargeat
Starring: Matilda Ann Ingrid Lutz, Kevin Janssens, and Vincent Colombe
Best Soundtrack
–Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse
And the winner is…
Original Music by Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper and Lukas Nelson
Must-See Documentary
Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin
Starring: Alex Honnold
Most Disappointing
Director by Shane Black
Screenplay by Fred Dekker & Shane Black
Worst Movie of the Year
Writer & Director: Etan Cohen
Starring: Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly
Best Sequel, Reboot, or Remake
Directed by David Leitch, Screenplay by Ryan Reynolds, Paul Wernick & Rhett Reese
Directed by Rob Marshall, Screenplay & Story by David McGee, Rob Marshall & John DeLuca
Directed by Stephen Caple Jr., Screenplay by Sylvester Stallone and Juel Taylor
Directed by Phil Johnston & Rich Moore, Screenplay by Phil Johnston and Pamela Ribon
Directed by Travis Knight, Screenplay by Christina Hodson
Directed by Bradley Cooper, Screenplay by Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, and Will Fetters
And the winner is…
Directed by Bradley Cooper, Screenplay by Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, and Will Fetters
**For those who made a noticeable splash without necessarily factoring into the rest of the larger awards picture**
Breakthrough Performers
Rafael Casal, Blindspotting & Jessie Buckley, Beast
Breakthrough Director
Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born
Honorable Mentions:
-Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade
-Corey Finely, Thoroughbreds
-Jonah Hill, Mid90s
-Paul Dano, Wildlife
-Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You
-Carlos López Estrada, Blindspotting
Best Use of Sound
And the Winner is…
Best Original Song
🏆 -“Shallow” A Star is Born
Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt
-“The Place Where Lost Things Go” Mary Poppins Returns
Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman
-“When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
David Rawlings, Gillian Welch
🐎-“All the Stars” Black Panther
Sounwave, Kendrick Lamar, Anthony Tiffith, SZA
-“Hollywood Ending” Anna and the Apocalypse
Roddy Hart & Tommy Reilly, performed by the cast
And the Winner is…
“Shallow” A Star is Born
Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt
Best Original Score
🏆-Nicholas Britell, If Beale Street Could Talk
-Justin Hurwitz, First Man
🐎 –Alexandre Desplat, Isle of Dogs
–Erik Friedlander, Thoroughbreds
-Alexandre Desplat, The Sisters Brothers
-Max Richter, White Boy Rick
-Jonny Greenwood, You Were Never Really Here
And the Winner is…
Nicholas Britell, If Beale Street Could Talk
Best Visual Effects
And the Winner is…
Best Costume Design
🐎 –Ruth E. Carter, Black Panther
-Alexandra Byrne, Mary Queen of Scots
–Sandy Powell, The Favourite
🏆-Sandy Powell, Mary Poppins Returns
-Mary Zophres, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
And the Winner is…
Ruth E. Carter, Black Panther
Best Production Design
🐎 –Hannah Beachler & Jay Hart, Black Panther
-John Myhre & Gordon Sim, Mary Poppins Returns
🏆-Fiona Crombie & Alice Felton, The Favourite
-Nathan Crowley & Kathy Lucas, First Man
-Adam Stockhausen, Ready Player One
And the winner is…
Hannah Beachler & Jay Hart, Black Panther
Best Cinematography
– Pawel Pogorzelski, Hereditary
-Thomas Townend, You Were Never Really Here
-Lyle Vincent, Thoroughbreds
-Ole Bratt Birkeland, American Animals
🐎 –Matthew Libatique, A Star is Born
– Robbie Ryan, The Favourite
🏆-Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
And the Winner is…
Robbie Ryan, The Favourite
Best Original Screenplay
-Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You
-Paul Schrader, First Reformed
-Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, Blindspotting
🏆-Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Currie, and Peter Farrelly, Green Book
🐎 -Adam McKay, Vice
And the Winner(s) are…
Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Currie, and Peter Farrelly, Green Book
Best Adapted Screenplay
-Jane Anderson, The Wife
🐎 –Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk
-Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
-Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, and Will Fetters, A Star is Born
🏆-Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Spike Lee, BlackKklansman
And the Winner is…
Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
**Recognizing the best cumulative body of work throughout the year**
Actor of the Year
Joaquin Phoenix
(The Sisters Brothers / Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot / You Were Never Really Here)
Actress of the Year
Rosamund Pike
(A Private War / Beirut / Hostiles / 7 Days in Entebbe)
Director of the Year
Jason Reitman
Best Animated Feature
🏆-Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
Screenplay by Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman
Directed by Phil Johnston & Rich Moore, Screenplay by Phil Johnston & Pamela Ribon
Directed by & Screenplay by Brad Bird
🐎 –Isle of Dogs
Directed by & Screenplay by Wes Anderson
And the Winner is…
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
Screenplay by Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman
Best Supporting Actor
-Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
🏆-Mahershala Ali, Green Book
-Rafael Casal, Blindspotting
-Steve Carrell, Vice
-Ben Foster, Leave No Trace
🐎 –Sam Elliot, A Star is Born
-Adam Driver, BlackKklansman
And the Winner is…
Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Best Supporting Actress
🏆-Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
🐎 –Amy Adams, Vice
-Claire Foy, First Man
-Emma Stone, The Favourite
-Rachel Weisz, The Favourite
And the Winner is…
Amy Adams, Vice
Best Actor in a Lead Role
– Christian Bale, Vice
🏆-Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
-Viggo Mortensen, Green Book
🐎 – Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate
-Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born
-Ethan Hawke, First Reformed
-Josh Brolin, Avengers: Infinity War
And the Winner is…
Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
Best Actress in a Lead Role
-Toni Collette, Hereditary
-Rosamund Pike, A Private War
-Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
🏆-Glenn Close, The Wife
-Olivia Coleman, The Favourite
🐎 –Lady Gaga, A Star is Born
-Carey Mulligan, Wildlife
And the Winner is…
Glenn Close, The Wife
Best Director
-Lynne Ramsay, You Were Never Really Here
-Debra Granik, Leave No Trace
🐎 –Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman
-Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite
-Adam McKay, Vice
-Julian Schnabel, At Eternity’s Gate
🏆-(Alfonso Cuarón, Roma)
And the winner is…
Lynne Ramsay, You Were Never Really Here
Best Picture
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
Directed by Carlos López Estrada, Screenplay by Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs
Directed by Jacques Audiard, Screenplay by Jacques Audiard and Thomas Bidegain
Directed by & Screenplay by Bart Layton
Directed by Bradley Cooper, Screenplay by Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, and Will Fetters
Directed by Peter Farrelly, Screenplay Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Currie, and Peter Farrelly
Directed by & Screenplay by Barry Jenkins
–Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
Screenplay by Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman
–Vice
Directed by & Screenplay by Adam McKay
*🏆-Roma*
Directed by & Screenplay by Alfonso Cuarón
*Not at the top of my list but it’s the favorite to win the Oscar
And the Winner is…
Directed by Peter Farrelly, Screenplay Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Currie, and Peter Farrelly
***2018 was a great year for cinema so here’s several more that fell just outside the Best Picture category***
Best of the Rest
Directed by Clint Eastwood, screenplay by Nick Schenk
Directed by Matthew Heineman, screenplay by
Directed by and screenplay by Lynne Ramsay
Directed by Spike Lee, screenplay by Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, and Spike Lee
Directed by Ryan Coogler, screenplay by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole
Directed by Marielle Heller, screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
Directed by Damien Chazelle, screenplay by Josh Singer
Directed by and screenplay by Bo Burnham
Directed by Debra Granik, screenplay by Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini
Directed by Luca Guadagnino, screenplay by David Kajganich
Directed by and screenplay by Ari Aster
Directed by Julian Schnabel, Screenplay by Jean-Claude Carrière, Julian Schnabel, and Louise Kugelberg
If you made it this far, thanks for taking the time. Hopefully, you found something you can enjoy!