Actress Jennifer Titus has never been to a horror film festival. Hell, she’s never been to Columbus, but she’s all set to accompany her new film and enjoy Nightmares Film Festival this weekend.
Titus stars as Ashley, a serial killer’s neighbor with the skills to take care of herself in Tom Holland’s newest Rock, Paper, Dead. The film, which has garnered several festival nominations, will make its world premiere at Nightmares.
A longtime horror fan, Titus was thrilled to be offered a role in the film penned by Friday the 13th creator Victor Miller.
“My very first horror film was Friday the 13th,” she says. “Honestly, I was so honored to be reading this. And it was a page-turner. When I met Victor Miller, he was such a real, down to earth guy and such a calm, beautiful soul. And I thought, I would be honored to do this.”
Acting was not exactly her first career choice.
“When I was about 6 or 7, my grandfather asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up,” she remembers. “I said I wanted to be a professional figure skater, a doctor and a movie star. He told me, ‘Well I have no doubt you will do all three.’”
He was right.
A figure skater throughout her childhood, Titus turned professional at 18, touring the country and the world with ice shows. Eventually, she returned to school, earning a degree from UC San Diego in science and theater, then moving on to medical school.
“Toward my last year I really missed acting,” she says. “I just wasn’t getting that creative fulfillment in medical school, so when I graduated I got right back into acting.”
But her medical degree came in handy.
“I got into a situation where I was acting and they needed a doctor for an emergency,” she says. “We were actually in the jungle and there was a guy who had a bamboo stake driven into his leg underneath his muscle. I jumped right in and did field medicine surgery on the guy and I ended up saving his leg – bamboo is very toxic. When I visited him about three days later, about 30 people there to meet me and thank me. It was so rewarding I just thought to myself, I need to go back, get licensed.”
Titus returned to medicine, completed her residency, passed the board exam, got licensed and returned to acting.
“I always knew I wanted to do these things,” she laughs. “It’s not like I was confused and I was career jumping. I was just knocking them off the list.”
Titus sees a connection among the professions.
“When I was little, I was always interested in blood and guts,” she says. “Honestly, that’s one of the things I always loved about medicine. It never was scary to me or gross to me, it always fascinated me.”
Titus says her character in Rock, Paper, Dead—a black belt in karate—was the ideal role for her.
“My best friend and I, every Saturday night, would go down to the video store and rent one to two horror films. We’d get under the covers, cover our faces with pillows and squeal. That went on for years.”
“I specifically remember Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master,” she says. “The main character was a girl that took on all the powers of her friends who were killed off by Freddy Krueger. She became just a ninja master by the end. And I thought, oh my gosh, that is just the coolest character I have ever seen in all these horror films. I thought, what a great example, finally, of a strong female who can take this guy on. And when I got this script for Rock, Paper, Dead, I thought, oh my gosh, it’s the dream master. I have to do it. It’s so cool.”
Nighmares Film Festival runs from Thursday, October 19 through Sunday, October 22.
Rock, Paper, Dead, which makes its world premiere this Saturday, October 21 at 8pm, is nominated in the categories of Best Thriller Feature and Best Screenplay Feature.
For filmmakers and fans alike, Nightmares Film Festival (Oct. 19 to 22) is making the number 13 lucky again.
The renowned genre and horror festival, watched by critics and ranked first on FilmFreeway by filmmakers, today revealed the first thirteen films and screenplays to be included in its 2017 worldwide program of “#BetterHorror.”
The dazzling list includes feature-film world premieres, a 3D feature, shorts from the director of Turkish horror feature Baskin and a Dr. Who writer, and a horror screenplay by a poet laureate finalist from Michigan.
“We are tradition-rich at Nightmares, and this is one we’re always excited about,” said NFF Co-founder and Programmer Jason Tostevin. “Each year we unveil thirteen early selections as a way to give Nightmares attendees a taste of the program we’re building to present in October.”
The 2017 Early 13 is composed of three features, eight shorts and two screenplays. Highlights include:
NFF’s first-ever 3D feature presentation, Found Footage 3D, produced by Texas Chainsaw Massacre co-creator Kim Henkel.
The world premiere of controversial feature Flesh of the Void, “The Ring video, if it were released on the Deep Web.”
One of the first-ever screenings of horror comedy short Blood Shed, from director James Moran (Cockneys Vs. Zombies, Dr. Who).
A rare screening of Can Evrenol’s (Baskin) early short, To My Mother and Father.
“We’re particularly proud of the diversity represented by the selections,” which include women, people of color, international and homegrown filmmakers, said co-founder Chris Hamel. “The horror community is about inclusion, and for us, that means making sure we include all kinds of voices.”
Nightmares Film Festival is held every October in Columbus, Ohio at the world-renowned Gateway Film Center, named a top 20 North American art house by Sundance. There, one of the last dedicated movie projectionist teams ensures every Nightmares film looks and sounds its best as exuberant fans – affectionately called “The Sleepless” for marathoning the program – mingle with filmmakers from around the world.
Both VIP and festival passes for Nightmares will become available on August 13 on the Gateway Film Center website, www.GatewayFilmCenter.org.
COMPLETE LIST OF NIGHTMARES FILM FESTIVAL “EARLY THIRTEEN”
FEATURES
WORLD PREMIERE: Flesh of the Void, midnight feature, directed by James Quinn, NFF Best Midnight Short winner in 2016.
Found Footage 3D, horror feature, directed by Steven DeGennaro and produced by Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Kim Henkel – will be presented in 3D at NFF 17.
WORLD PREMIERE Bong of the Living Dead, horror feature, directed by Columbus-based Max Groah and four years in the making.
SHORTS
To My Mother and Father, horror short; an early, rarely-screened short by Baskin director Can Evrenol.
Dickeaters, midnight short, directed by Aaron Immediato.
The Cure, midnight short, directed by Slamdance winner and Columbus-based filmmaker Mike Olenick.
Blood Shed, horror comedy short, directed by James Moran (Cockneys vs. Zombies, Dr. Who) and co-written by Cat Davies (Connie).
La Sirena, thriller short, directed by Columbian filmmaker Rosita Lama Muvdi.
Creswick, thriller short, directed by Australian-Japanese filmmaker Natalie Erika James.
Your Date Is Here, horror short, directed by Todd Spence and Zak White.
The Naughty List, horror comedy short, directed by Paul Campion (The Devil’s Rock) and adapted from the story by best-selling horror novelist Brian Keene (The Rising).
SCREENPLAYS
The Knife Association, feature screenplay by Ron Riekki, finalist for Poet Laureate of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
The Wood, short screenplay, written by B. Maddox.
Hope Madden and George Wolf are thrilled to be part of the judging panel for Nightmares Film Festival, a nationally-renowned horror and genre film festival dedicated to inspiring horror filmmakers and promoting #BetterHorror. Its 2017 edition will be held Oct. 19 to 22 in Columbus, Ohio at the celebrated Gateway Film Center.
Land a’ goshen, the year’s half over already! How the F did that happen? Well, we’ve watched 161 films so far this year. Whew! Which have been the best? The new episodes of both Planet of the Apes and Spider-Man would’ve made the cut, but our judges said July releases didn’t count, so….let’s have a look at what did.
1. Get Out
You want to know the fears and anxieties at work in any modern population? Just look at their horror films.
You probably knew that. The stumper then, is what took so long for a film to manifest the fears of racial inequality as smartly as does Jordan Peele’s Get Out – an audacious first feature that never stops entertaining as it consistently pays off the bets it is unafraid to make.
2. The Survivalist
Lean, mean futuristic science fiction that feels unsettlingly like reality, The Survivalist ranks among the best dystopian films in recent memory. And as writer/director Stephen Fingleton creates an utterly plausible and devastatingly grim future, the film marks a first time filmmaker with an awful lot to say.
3. It Comes at Night
Deep in the woods, Paul (Joel Edgerton, solid as always), Sarah (Carmen Ejogo) and their teenage son Travis (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) have established a cautious existence in the face of a worldwide plague. They have boarded their windows, secured their doors, and enacted a very strict set of rules for survival.
At the top of that list: do not go out at night.
But what are the dangers, and how much of the soul might one offer up to placate fear itself?
In asking those unsettling questions, It Comes at Night becomes a truly chilling exploration of human frailty.
4. The Beguiled
Snugly hidden near the fighting in Confederate territory, a girls’ school takes in a wounded Union soldier. Delicately shifting allegiances, power struggles, competition, longing, fear, and danger waft between the columns of Miss Farnsworth’s Seminary for Young Ladies.
Sofia Coppola develops a languid and ornate atmosphere, punctuated where necessary to create a sense of dread and urgency. Her cast is uniformly excellent, their commitment to character leading to a finale that’s as devastating as it is inevitable.
5. Logan
Bloody and bleak, tossing F-bombs and the franchise’s first flash of nudity, Logan is not like the other X-Men.
Logan relies on themes of redemption – a superhero’s favorite. Director James Mangold pulls ideas from Children of Men and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, but his film reminds me more of The Girl with All the Gifts. (If you haven’t seen it, you should.)
The point? The children are our future and Logan’s real battle has always been with himself. Almost literally, in this case.
6. Baby Driver
Start to finish, the soundtrack-driven heist flick Baby Driver has a bright, infectious charm – and you can dance to it.
The beats offer more than a gimmick to ensure the flick dances along – the tunes getaway driver Baby (Ansel Elgort) has buzzing through his ear buds give rhythm to his impressive high speed antics.
The game cast never drops a beat, playing characters with the right mix of goofiness and malice to be as fun or as terrifying as they need to be. For all its danceability, Wright’s film offers plenty of tension, too.
7. Hounds of Love
Driven by a fiercely invested and touchingly deranged performance from Emma Booth, Hounds of Love makes a subtle shift from horrific torture tale to psychological character study. In 108 grueling minutes, writer/director Ben Young’s feature debut marks him as a filmmaker with confident vision and exciting potential.
No doubt, events get brutal, but never without reminders that Young is a craftsman. Subtle additions, such as airplanes flying freely overhead to contrast with the theme of captivity, give Hounds of Love a steady dose of smarts, even as it’s shaking your core.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNEurXzvHqE
8. Raw
A vegetarian from a meat-free family, Justine (Garance Marillier, impressive) objects to her new university’s freshman hazing ritual of eating a piece of raw meat. But once she submits to peer pressure and tastes that taboo, her appetite is awakened and it will take more and more dangerous, self-destructive acts to indulge her blood lust.
Writer/director Julia Ducournau’s has her cagey way with the same themes that populate any coming-of-age story – pressure to conform, peer pressure generally, societal order and sexual hysteria. Here all take on a sly, macabre humor that’s both refreshing and unsettling.
9. Norman
Writer/director Joseph Cedar skillfully creates an utterly fascinating character in Norman (Richard Gere), who maneuvers through an equally intriguing web of politics, friendship and desperation. And Gere, as good as he’s ever been, makes it feel authentic.
It’s a performance that should not be forgotten come award season, and it anchors a smart, detailed film as compelling as any political thriller, yet as familiar as your last little white lie.
10. The Blackcoat’s Daughter
Winter break approaches at a Catholic New England boarding school. Snow piles up outside, the buildings empty, yet Kat (Kiernan Shipka) and Rose (Lucy Boynton) remain. One has tricked her parents for an extra day with her townie boyfriend. One remains under more mysterious circumstances.
Blackcoat’s Daughter behaves almost the way a picture book does. In a good picture book, the words tell only half the story. The illustrations don’t simply mirror the text, they tell their own story as well. If there is one particular and specific talent this film exposes in its director, it is his ability with a visual storyline.
Pay attention when you watch this one. There are loads of sinister little clues to find.
11. Split
A transfixing James McAvoy is Kevin, a deeply troubled man harboring 23 distinct personalities and some increasingly chilling behavior. When he kidnaps the teenaged Casey (The Witch‘s Anya Taylor-Joy) and her two friends (Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Suva), the girls are faced with constantly changing identities as they desperately seek an escape from their disorienting confines.
The split personality trope has been used to eye-rolling effect in enough films to be the perfect device for writer/director M. Night Shyamalan’s clever rope-a-dope. By often splitting the frame with intentional set designs and camera angles, or by letting full face close-ups linger one extra beat, he reinforces the psychological creepiness without any excess bloodshed that would have soiled a PG-13 rating.
12. Free Fire
Imagine if the entire 93 minutes of Reservoir Dogs took place in that last act shootout among the pack.
The noteworthy fact about Free Fire is not that it has a ballsy first act, but that the entire film is a third act. With scarcely a word of context, we’re rolled into an empty warehouse just in time for a shootout to begin, and there we will stay until the film concludes.
There is a barely controlled, very funny, incredibly bloody chaos afoot here, and it is a wild and entertaining sight to behold.
13. Colossal
Colossal could also describe the height of writer/director Nacho Vigalondo’s latest concept, but despite some shaky interludes, it’s one worth the investment. Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis make a compelling pair, and as secrets of the film monster’s history are revealed, Vigalondo lands some solid satirical blows about self-absorption and personal demons.
Perhaps best of all is how Colossal works out of the conceptual corner it backs into. Much like the Koreans who keep coming downtown no matter how often the monster appears, Vigalondo is committed to the end, delivering a strange but satisfying in-the-moment fable.
14. The Lovers
Credit writer/director Azazel Jacobs for turning the romantic dramedy inside out, weaving sly writing and touching performances into a thoroughly charming take on the resilience of love and the frustrating struggle to pin it down.
The Lovers is sneaky in its casual nature. Through subtle storytelling and stellar performances, it finds meaning in places rarely explored this effectively, and a gentle confidence that frayed emotions can still bond.
15. Guardians of the Galaxy 2
Is that second mixtape ever quite as awesome as the first? Rarely, and that’s the Catch-22 of the original film’s surprising blast of space zaniness. While we never saw that one coming, this new one arrives with weighty expectations.
No, Volume 2 can’t match the ruffian charm of the first, and there are some stretches of not-much-happening-here. But James Gunn’s sequel shares a lot of heart, swashbuckling visuals and more than a few solid belly laughs.
A ten foot tall demon, devil possessed mistresses, and lizard-like aliens. All promise a terrifying movie experience, but does The Dark Tapes succeed?
Vincent Guastani and Michael McQuown’s film is a found-footage anthology documenting “transdimensional entities.” The first couple stories are enjoyable – I’m glad they reserved the better actors for these sections.
The remaining stories, however, couldn’t keep my attention. Unfortunately, the acting quality distracted greatly from their plots.
It’s a good thing there isn’t much to miss out on anyway. The installment “cam girls” has some of the worst acting in the whole film. I have to give the actors some slack though, seeing as they didn’t have much to work with. The script was unbelievably bland and predictable.
Same goes for “Amanda’s Revenge,” which gives little explanation as to what exactly is going on. This would normally be fine as long as enough is given to allow the viewer to run free with their own conclusions, but there just isn’t enough substance to formulate one’s own theories.
Each storyline in this film goes for the unexpected twist at the end, and these two simply fail to surprise.
With that aside, not every short in the anthology is lacking. The complex science behind the “To Catch a Demon” storyline required all my attention, and the eerily convincing demon was able to keep it. Kudos goes to Guastani for special effects and creature design.
The end of “The Hunters and the Hunted” left me pleasantly surprised. Initially my notes read, “not unlike every other ghost hunting film.” Which I subsequently had to cross out after a major twist.
The Dark Tapes proudly states that it’s the found-footage horror movie with the second most awards and nominations, coming in at 61. As a whole, this film failed to be up to par with others in the genre, such as Paranormal Activity.
It certainly was a valiant effort, but they should have focused on those couple storylines with potential and ditched the rest.
You may recognize the voice and know the name, but that doesn’t mean you know Dino Tripodis. The longtime Sunny 95 morning man has been involved in Columbus film for years, and you’ll get the chance to see that first hand at the Columbus International Film & Video Festival this weekend.
Tripodis produces, co-writes and co-stars in director John Whitney’s locally shot indie drama The Street Where We Live, which is set to premier at the festival on April 21. The project began at Tripodis’ home as the two men lamented the sudden cancellation of a different film project due to backer issues.
“John and I were sitting on my front porch and John said to me, ‘Screw it man, let’s just make a movie with our friends and family,’” Tripodis remembered.
Whitney added, “I was like, ‘Yeah we’ll do four people maximum cast, maybe two or three locations.’ Didn’t quite work out.”
The resulting effort evolved into a full scale feature, set in and around Columbus and boasting a cast of more than 80 actors.
“It turned into a much bigger cast with a lot more locations,” Tripodis confirmed. “But, the simple idea was of getting our friends together: the actors, cinematographers, lighting people, sound people — everybody that was good at what they do. Getting them involved, knowing that we have practically no money and we’re doing this out of the love of making film.”
“I gotta throw some props over to John,” Tripodis continued. “John’s done a lot of great work in the past, and I think a lot of people wanted to work with him because he’s a good director. I think that was part of the draw for some of these people — to work on a Whitney project.”
It’s a tough way to go about making a film, but the duo is proud and pleased with the result. The Street Where We Live tells the story of a family caught in sudden economic troubles, with potentially devastating results.
“During that time period — about two and a half years ago when we were coming up with this story — there was a lot in the news about people reaching the end of their unemployment. What do they do next?” Tripodis said. “They don’t have a job, and people are dropping off unemployment, basically falling out of the system. I thought it would be interesting if we tried to tell a slice of that kind of story.”
“It’s a story about a woman trying to keep her family together as best she can in a very difficult situation,” Whitney said. “It’s a dramedy. There are some light moments along with some poignant moments.”
And the whole package is 100 percent Columbus?
“Oh yeah,” said Tripodis. “Everybody involved was from Columbus. Everything was shot in Columbus, a large part of it shot in Clintonville. I’d say close to 80 percent of it is Clintonville, with a couple other locations on the west side and a couple shots in Arlington.”
“Gotta give props to everybody that helped us out in locations,” Tripodis continued. “Whether it be at the hardware store or the body shop or a bar or homes.”
“It was an all-volunteer army. We only wanted like-minded people to be involved in the project,” said Whitney. “In the course of a year we shot over eight or nine weekends. About once a month we’d get together for a couple of days and shoot a couple scenes – knock out 15, 18 pages, and then prep for the next month.”
“Which we will never do again,” said Tripodis. “Ever.”
Check out The Street Where We Live this Friday, April 21 as part of the Columbus International Film & Video festival. The film screens at 8:30 p.m. at the CCAD Canzani Center Screening Room.
He said he would be back, and he is – onscreen, anyway. Open fan of Columbus Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in Aftermath, a movie filmed and set in central Ohio.
Based on the real-life mid-air collision of Danish airplanes in 2002, recast as an American disaster, the film follows the merging paths of a grieving father (Schwarzenegger) and the air traffic controller he holds responsible (Scoot McNairy).
Greater Columbus Film Commission and Gateway Film Center celebrate the release with a premier this Friday, April 7. Local cast and crewmembers will share the excitement, which begins with a mixer at the film center at 7:30 pm and a screening at 9.
Schwarzenegger delivers one of his best performances in a role that contrasts with the type that made him an icon. He’s thoughtful and understated in a film draped in a haze of sadness and regret.
He’s joined onscreen by Columbus native Maggie Grace in a film written by Javier Gullon (Enemy), produced by Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, The Wrestler), and directed by Elliot Lester (Nightingale).
Add to that cameos by former Mayor Mike Coleman and shout outs to local media Sunny 95 and Channel 6 – not to mention locations you’re sure to recognize – and the whole thing feels just darn homey.
Tickets for this special opening night event are $15 each ($5 for myGFC members).
Oscar cometh, and with him the possibility of drawing attention to some of the best films from 2016 that many people didn’t see. By all means, check out Hell or High Water and Moonlight. Watch Natalie Portman’s brilliant turn in Jackie, or Viola Davis’s blistering performance in Fences. And for the love of God, watch Manchester by the Sea already. It won’t kill you.
And while you’re at it, pull out your Oscar score card and compare it with ours.
Best Picture
There are a lot of solid contenders and one possible winner. Such is the case every year, but the best thing about the real race this year is that it’s the movie you enjoyed most versus clearly the best film you saw this year. For us, it’s La La Land versus Moonlight, and however it turns out, we all win. This is how it will turn out:
Should:Moonlight Will: La La Land
Best Director
We would love to say David Mackenzie, beautiful visionary behind Hell or High Water, should win but will lose to someone else. But, Mel Gibson got that nomination for Hacksaw Ridge. So Mackenzie can’t lose, at least he has that. The winner, then?
Should: Damien Chazelle, La La Land Will: Chazelle
Best Actress
This is a stacked category (including Streep, Portman, and Loving‘s Ruth Negga)– one of the strongest pack of contenders for Best Female Lead we’ve seen in years. Congratulations to us that it will be so tough to choose. But here’s the way it’ll likely go:
Should: Isabelle Huppert, Elle Will: Emma Stone, La La Land
Best Actor
Tightest race this year, and only getting tighter. Even Denzel Washington was surprised to see the Screen Actors Guild award come his way for Fences, and with all the overlap in the voting pool between that organization and the Academy, Denzel’s chances have only gotten better. But we still give Casey Affleck the slightest of leads.
Should: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea Will: Affleck
Best Supporting Actress
Regardless of her limited screen time in Manchester by the Sea, Michelle Williams has every right to this award, only because the great Viola Davis should be nominated in the best actress category. But since she’s not…
Should: Viola Davis, Fences
Will: Davis
Best Supporting Actor
This is another group of impressive performances. Nice to see Lucas Hedges included for his great work in Manchester by the Sea. Still, this ranks as the second strongest lock on the ballot (after Viola’s certain win).
Should: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight Will: Ali
Best Original Screenplay
Wow, the brilliance off all this work could blind you. The Lobster, 20th Century Woman, La La Land and more, someof the most original, most provocative and most moving screenplays we’ve seen in years. There are no losers here.
Should: Taylor Sheridan, Hell or High Water Will: Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Best Adapted Screenplay
Matching the originals in style and substance is this group of adapted screenplays (including Lion, Arrival, and Fences). Breathtaking.
Should: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight Will:Moonlight
Best Animated Film
Oscar liked some obscure cartoons this year – and good for all of us that they drew attention to such gems as The Red Turtle and My Life as a Zucchini. Still, it’s the big boys who delivered. No, not Pixar. For once, the ultimate behemoth in ‘toon-tainment, Disney, put out the most relevant and gorgeous piece of animation, and will be rewarded for it.
Should:Zootopia Will:Zootopia
Best Documentary
Three films here, including Ava DuVernay’s gripping 13th, are almost equally deserving of this award, each of them speaking to the nation’s racial tensions in a way that illustrates both the history and currency of the topic. We’ll be happy however it turns out, but if it were up to us…
Should:I Am Not Your Negro Will:OJ: Made In America
Catch the show Sunday night on ABC. Coverage begins at 7pm.
“I see the light of dance. The freedom. The undeniable release of expression within our human forms transformed outwardly for all to see through the movements of our bodies. I want the world to experience this from Columbus.”
Candace Wright is a Sr. Business Analyst at JPMorgan Chase by day, but has plenty of experience away from her desk and behind a camera. After years of video production projects she’s made the jump to filmmaker with her first documentary feature, Love, Dance, screening this weekend at Gateway Film Center.
“I haven’t made any other films at all,” Wright says. “The film work I do is mostly weddings and some promotional videos, so I was really excited to start with a documentary as I venture into real, feature-length filmmaking.”
Wright is a dancer herself, and her debut film not only displays a love for her subject, but solid instincts as a director. Love, Dance showcases eleven Columbus-area dancers of different ages and backgrounds, exploring how each “dance journey” changed a life.
To find her stars, Wright went looking for passion.
“I put out a casting call online and put up flyers at some dance studios. Most of the dancers selected were recommended to me from several other dancers in Columbus. I spoke to each of them beforehand about my idea and their story about their love of dance and how it has changed them or is changing them. From that, I wanted to pick who had true passion for dancing, talent and a great story of why they love dance.”
Aside from an occasionally rough sound mix that is common with young filmmakers, Wright’s entry into the Columbus film scene is impressive. The stories evolve naturally and are paced well, as Wright mixes first person interviews, performance clips, and old home video with a fine eye for style and editing. Very little of the film feels like filler, with Wright finding moments of true poignancy in her diverse group of performers.
Though many of the dancers in the film express some disappointment with the dance scene in Columbus, Wright is hoping to find the Columbus film community more supportive.
“I want to inspire people through film. Everyone has a story…it can inspire you. I want to make documentaries that make that happen.”
2016 was a fairly weak, fairly bland year at the movies, but it still has surprises in store for us. Look at this…Suicide Squad is nominated for an Oscar! Okay, it’s for makeup and hairstyling – who knew that rolling around Hot Topic could translate to an Oscar nomination?
The official Academy Award nominations had few other surprises in store. La La Land racked up quite a haul of noms, most of which are likely to translate to statuettes. What’s the lowdown? Who should have made the list? Who shouldn’t have? Let us walk you through it.
Best Film
Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Snubs:Zootopia, Jungle Book, The Witch, The Lobster, Jackie, Loving – there’s a bunch we’d have included instead of Lion, Hidden Figures or Hacksaw Ridge. Not that those are bad films – they are quite good. Just not as deserving.
Best Director
Denis Villeneuve, Arrival
Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Snubs: No question Mel Gibson is out of his league here. While Hacksaw Ridge was a fine piece of filmmaking, it almost works in spite of Gibson’s direction. He begins with a Hallmark card then descends into carnage few other filmmakers care to capture. But the performances and the genuine merit of the story keep the film interesting. It’s not the direction, which is why we’d have honored David Mackenzie and his glorious direction for Hell or High Water instead.
Best Actress
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Ruth Negga, Loving
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Emma Stone, La La Land
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins
Snubs: It’s hard to even form this sentence, but Meryl Streep should not be on this list. We know! Blasphemy! But the pool for Best Actress is rarely this deep, and Annette Bening (20th Century Women) Rebecca Hall (Christine), or Amy Adams (Arrival) would have been better choices.
Best Actor
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington, Fences
Snubs: Not much to complain about here. The race is basically Affleck V Washington, with Affleck coming out on top, but we could have accepted Tom Hanks (Sully) or Nate Parker (The Birth of a Nation) in Garfield’s spot.
Best Supporting Actress
Viola Davis, Fences
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea
Snubs: Here’s a weird yet valid complaint: the smart money’s on Viola Davis to win, but how in the hell is this a supporting role? Not only is Davis the only female on the screen for 9/10 of Fences, she has more screen time than Denzel. It’s her story. She’s not just the lead actress, she’s the lead. And her performance is more than strong enough to take home the best actress Oscar.
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel, Lion
Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals
Snubs: First of all, amen to Michael Shannon. We could not be more pleased to see him hit this list. And halleluiah to Mahershala Ali – the likely front runner in the category.
We’d have given Dev Patel’s slot to Shannon’s Nocturnal Animals co-star Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ben Foster outshined his full slate of talented co-stars in Hell or High Water. He deserves Jeff Bridges’s spot.
Original Screenplay
Taylor Sheridan, Hell or High Water
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou, The Lobster
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Mike Mills, 20th Century Women
Snub: This is a very solid and admirable list. Mike Mills’s 20th Century Women is brilliantly written and performed. We might swap him out, though, and give his spot to Robert Eggers’s The Witch.
Adapted Screenplay
Eric Heisserer, Arrival
August Wilson, Fences
Allison Schroeder, Theodore Melfi, Hidden Figures
Luke Davies, Lion
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Snubs: Hidden Figures and Lion were well put-together, lovely films. But in this year of searing, searching, brilliant writing, they have no place in this list. In their stead? Whit Stillman’s wicked and wonderful Love & Friendship and Tom Ford’s story within a story Nocturnal Animals.
Cinematography
Arrival
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Silence
Snubs: Chan-wook Park’s gloriously wrong The Handmaiden looked better than anything else that came out this year. It shouldn’t just be nominated, it should win. But it certainly should be perched in this category in Lion’s spot.
Foreign Language
Land of Mine
A Man Called Ove
The Salesman
Tanna
Toni Erdmann
Snubs: Again, where is the love for The Handmaiden? And the bigger surprise may be Elle, which nabbed a Best Actress nomination.
Documentary Feature
Fire at Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
OJ: Made in America
13th
Snubs: Nope. Not a one. Every single one of these is required viewing. We’re hoping for some ties.
Animated Feature
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
The Red Turtle
Zootopia
My Life as a Zucchini
Snubs: No Finding Dory? We’re not sure that’s a snub, but it means no Pixar in this category, and we’ll call that a surprise.
We’ll have our official predictions a little closer to the Feb. 26th Oscar ceremony.
La La Land glitters at 15th annual Central Ohio Film Critics Association awards
(Columbus, January 5, 2017) Damien Chazelle’s musical La La Land has been named Best Film in the Central Ohio Film Critics Association’s 15th annual awards, which recognize excellence in the film industry for 2016. The film also claimed four other awards. Chazelle was honored as Best Director. Linus Sandgren won for Best Cinematography. Tom Cross was recognized for Best Film Editing, a COFCA category he also topped in 2014 for Whiplash. Justin Hurwitz garnered the prize for Best Score.
Columbus-area critics lauded Best Film runner-up Moonlight with four awards: Best Supporting Actor Mahershala Ali; Best Ensemble; and Breakthrough Film Artist and Best Adapted Screenplay for director Barry Jenkins. Individual performers commended for their achievements include Best Actor Denzel Washington (Fences); Best Actress Rebecca Hall (Christine); Best Supporting Actor Lily Gladstone (Certain Women) and Actor of the Year Michael Shannon (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Complete Unknown, Elvis & Nixon, Frank & Lola, Loving, Midnight Special, and Nocturnal Animals).
Hell or High Water’s Taylor Sheridan won Best Original Screenplay. Other winners include: Best Documentary O.J.: Made in America; Best Foreign Language Film Toni Erdmann; Best Animated Film Kubo and the Two Strings; and 10 Cloverfield Lane as Best Overlooked Film.
Founded in 2002, the Central Ohio Film Critics Association is comprised of film critics based in Columbus, Ohio and the surrounding areas. Its membership consists of 25 print, radio, television, and internet critics. COFCA’s official website at www.cofca.org contains links to member reviews and past award winners.
Winners were announced at a private party on January 5.
Complete list of awards:
Best Film
La La Land
Moonlight
Hell or High Water
Manchester by the Sea
Sing Street
Arrival
The Lobster
Hacksaw Ridge
The Witch: A New-England Folktale
The Nice Guys
Best Director
-Damien Chazelle, La La Land
-Runner-up: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Best Actor
-Denzel Washington, Fences
-Runner-up: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Best Actress
-Rebecca Hall, Christine
-Runner-up: Viola Davis, Fences
Best Supporting Actor
-Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
-Runner-up: Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals
Best Supporting Actress
-Lily Gladstone, Certain Women
-Runner-up: Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Best Ensemble
–Moonlight
-Runner-up: Hell or High Water
Actor of the Year (for an exemplary body of work)
-Michael Shannon (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Complete Unknown, Elvis &
Nixon, Frank &Lola, Loving, Midnight Special, and Nocturnal Animals)
-Runner-up: Ryan Gosling, La La Land and The Nice Guys
Breakthrough Film Artist
-Barry Jenkins, Moonlight (for directing and screenwriting)
-Runner-up: Robert Eggers, The Witch: A New-England Folktale (for directing and screenwriting)
Best Cinematography
-Linus Sandgren, La La Land
-Runner-up: Chung Chung-hoon, The Handmaiden (Ah-ga-ssi)
Best Film Editing
-Tom Cross, La La Land
-Runner-up: Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders, Moonlight
Best Adapted Screenplay
-Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
-Runner-up: Eric Heisserer, Arrival
Best Original Screenplay
-Taylor Sheridan, Hell or High Water
-Runner-up: Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Best Score
-Justin Hurwitz, La La Land
-Runner-up: Andy Hull and Robert McDowell, Swiss Army Man
Best Documentary
–O.J.: Made in America
-Runner-up: 13th
Best Foreign Language Film
–Toni Erdmann
-Runner-up: The Handmaiden (Ah-ga-ssi)
Best Animated Film
–Kubo and the Two Strings
-Runner-up: Zootopia
Best Overlooked Film
–10 Cloverfield Lane
-Runner-up: Christine
COFCA offers its congratulations to the winners.
Previous Best Film winners:
2002:Punch-Drunk Love
2003:Lost in Translation
2004:Million Dollar Baby
2005: A History of Violence
2006: Children of Men
2007: No Country for Old Men
2008: WALL·E
2009:Up in the Air
2010:Inception
2011:Drive
2012: Moonrise Kingdom
2013: Gravity
2014: Selma
2015: Spotlight
For more information about the Central Ohio Film Critics Association, please visit www.cofca.org or e-mail info@cofca.org.
The complete list of members and their affiliations:
