“1917” Wins Best Film At 2020 BAFTA Awards

By Creative Media Times

Universal Pictures

Sam Mendes’ “1917” was the big winner at the recently concluded British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards (BAFTA), winning seven awards including Best Film and Best Director. The win also put the film in a strong position to win big at the upcoming Oscar awards, where the film is nominated in 10 categories.

“In the midst of all this hoopla, it’s sometimes easy to forget the actual experience of shooting a movie,” Mendes said. “I had a kind of director’s paradise in this film that I think I’ll never, ever have again.”

“1917,” which came into the night as the big favorite with nine nominations total, also won outstanding British film, beating nominees “Bait,” “Rocketman,” “For Sama,” “Sorry We Missed You,” and “The Two Popes.”

Another multiple winner is the blockbuster hit Joker, which won three awards including best actor for Joaquin Phoenix, as well as South Korean film Parasite which won two, including original screenplay and film not in the English language.

Read the complete list of BAFTA winners below.

BEST FILM
1917 Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Sam Mendes, Jayne-Ann Tenggren

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
1917 Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Jayne-Ann Tenggren, Krysty Wilson-Cairns

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
BAIT Mark Jenkin (Writer/Director), Kate Byers, Linn Waite (Producers)

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
PARASITE Bong Joon-ho

DOCUMENTARY
FOR SAMA Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts

ANIMATED FILM
KLAUS Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh

DIRECTOR
1917 Sam Mendes
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Sam Mendes Wins 2020 DGA Award for “1917”

By Creative Media Times

Universal Pictures

The Directors Guild of America has weighed in on the race for best director, and giving 1917’s Sam Mendes the top honor for best feature film.

“I was fortunate enough to win this award two decades ago,” Mendes recalling his DGA Awards win for “American Beauty” in 2000. “And I think if I’m honest with myself, I didn’t feel ultimately like I really knew what I was doing. I feel a little bit more like I do now.”

The win is Mendes’ second major guild win of the awards season, making him a solid frontrunner for best director at next month’s Academy Awards. The DGA Awards are often a strong bellwether for the Academy Awards: since DGA started handing out trophies in 1949, the winner has only lost seven times at the Oscars. Additionally, Mendes won best director at the Golden Globes earlier this month.

Other nominees for feature film were Bong Joon Ho for Parasite, Martin Scorsese for The Irishman, Quentin Tarantino for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Taika Waititi for Jojo Rabbit.

See below for the full list of winners:

Film

Feature Film
Sam Mendes – 1917

Documentaries
Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert – American Factory

First-Time Feature Film
Alma Har’el – Honey Boy
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‘Joker’ Nabs 11 Oscar Nominations

By Creative Media Times

WB

Nominations for the 92nd Oscars were announced on Monday by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with Todd Phillips’ R-rated superhero smash “Joker” leading the list with 11 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and Best Director for Phillips.

Three other films scored 10 apiece: Martin Scorsese’s mob drama “The Irishman,” Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and Sam Mendes’ war drama “1917”, all of which in contention for Best Picture.

Among the studios, streaming giant Netflix received 24 noms, the most this year, while Sony Pictures Releasing with 20 noms, followed by Disney with 16. Warner Bros and Fox Searchlight received 12 each.

Actress Issa Rae and John Cho announced the nominations on Monday morning. The Academy Awards is set to air Sunday, Feb. 9, on ABC, live from the Dolby Theater at Hollywood & Highland.

Here is the full list of 2020 Oscar nominations:

Best Picture:

“Ford v Ferrari”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Little Women”
“Marriage Story”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Parasite”

Lead Actor:

Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”
Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

Lead Actress:

Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”
Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”
Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”
Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”
Renee Zellweger, “Judy”

Supporting Actor:

Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Supporting Actress:

Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”
Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”
Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

Director:

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
Todd Phillips, “Joker”
Sam Mendes, “1917”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”
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