The nomination for the IFP Gotham Awards are more indie than the Spirit Awards (on the West Coast, next February) but still include some Hollywood people. Among them: Michelle Pfeiffer, Adam Driver, Emma Stone, Glenn Close. (I don’t mean they live in Hollywood, just that they’re often in studio films.)
The main category includes “The Favourite,” which is also getting a special award for its three actresses; Paul Schrader’s excellent “First Reformed,” and Barry Jenkins’ adaptation of “If Beale Street Could Talk.”
There are also two movies almost no one has ever seen: “The Rider,” and “Madeline’s Madeline.” But that’s exactly right. The Gothams are honoring independent movies, while the Independent Spirit Awards honor indie films that got Oscar nominations.
One glaring omission is Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma,” although its lead actress, who never acted before, is the Breakthrough Performance category.
It’s great that Richard E. Grant made it in from “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” as Best Actor, but Melissa McCarthy– so good in that film– ignored and she’s the main player.
The funniest category: all five nominees for Breakthrough Actor are…actresses. Ah, gender.
Best Feature
The Favourite
Yorgos Lanthimos, director; Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday, Yorgos Lanthimos,
producers (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
First Reformed
Paul Schrader, director; Jack Binder, Greg Clark, Victoria Hill, Gary Hamilton, Deepak Sikka,
Christine Vachon, David Hinojosa, Frank Murray, producers (A24)
If Beale Street Could Talk
Barry Jenkins, director; Adele Romanski, Sara Murphy, Barry Jenkins, Dede Gardner, Jeremy
Kleiner, Megan Ellison, producers (Annapurna Pictures)
Madeline’s Madeline
Josephine Decker, director; Krista Parris, Elizabeth Rao, producers (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
The Rider
Chloé Zhao, director; Bert Hamelinck, Sacha Ben Harroche, Mollye Asher, Chloé Zhao,
producers (Sony Pictures Classics)
Best Documentary
Bisbee ‘17
Robert Greene, producer; Douglas Tirola, Susan Bedusa, Bennett Elliott, producers (4th Row
Films)
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
RaMell Ross, director; RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes, Su Kim, producers (The Cinema Guild)
Minding the Gap
Bing Liu, director; Diane Quon, Bing Liu, producers (Hulu & Magnolia Pictures)
Shirkers
Sandi Tan, director; Sandi Tan, Jessica Levin, Maya Rudolph, producers (Netflix)
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Morgan Neville, director; Morgan Neville, Caryn Capotosto, Nicholas Ma, producers (Focus
Features)
Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Ari Aster for Hereditary (A24)
Bo Burnham for Eighth Grade (A24)
Jennifer Fox for The Tale (HBO)
Crystal Moselle for Skate Kitchen (Magnolia Pictures)
Boots Riley for Sorry to Bother You (Annapurna Pictures)
Best Screenplay
The Favourite, Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
First Reformed, Paul Schrader (A24)
Private Life, Tamara Jenkins (Netflix)
Support the Girls, Andrew Bujalski (Magnolia Pictures)
Thoroughbreds, Cory Finley (Focus Features)
Best Actor
Adam Driver in BlacKkKlansman (Focus Features)
Ben Foster in Leave No Trace (Bleecker Street)
Richard E. Grant in Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Ethan Hawke in First Reformed (A24)
Lakeith Stanfield in Sorry to Bother You (Annapurna Pictures)
Best Actress*
Glenn Close in The Wife (Sony Pictures Classics)
Toni Collette in Hereditary (A24)
Kathryn Hahn in Private Life (Netflix)
Regina Hall in Support the Girls (Magnolia Pictures)
Michelle Pfeiffer in Where is Kyra? (Paladin and Great Point Media)
*The 2018 Best Actress nominating committee also voted to award a special Gotham Jury
Award to Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz for their ensemble performance in The
Favourite. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Breakthrough Actor
Yalitza Aparicio in Roma (Netflix)
Elsie Fisher in Eighth Grade (A24)
Helena Howard in Madeline’s Madeline (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
KiKi Layne in If Beale Street Could Talk (Annapurna Pictures)
Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie in Leave No Trace (Bleecker Street)
Breakthrough Series – Long Form
Alias Grace, Sarah Polley, Mary Harron, Noreen Halpern, executive producers (Netflix)
Big Mouth, Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Jennifer Flackett, Mark Levin, creators; Nick Kroll,
Andrew Goldberg, Mark Levin & Jennifer Flackett, executive producers (Netflix)
The End of the F***ing World, Andy Baker, Murray Ferguson, Petra Fried, Ed MacDonald,
Dominic Buchanan, Jonathan Entwistle, executive producers (Netflix)
Killing Eve, Sally Woodward Gentle, Lee Morris, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, executive producers
(BBC America)
Pose, Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Steven Canals, creators; Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Nina
Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Alexis Martin Woodall, Sherry Marsh, executive producers (FX
Networks)
Sharp Objects, Marti Noxon, creator; Marti Noxon, Jason Blum, Gillian Flynn, Amy Adams, Jean-
Marc Vallée, Nathan Ross, Gregg Fienberg, Charles Layton, Marci Wiseman, Jessica Rhoades,
executive producers (HBO)
Breakthrough Series – Short Form
195 Lewis, Chanelle Aponte Pearson and Rae Leone Allen, creators
Cleaner Daze, Tess Sweet and Daniel Gambelin, creators
Distance, Alex Dobrenko, creator
The F Word, Nicole Opper, creator
She’s the Ticket, Nadia Hallgren, creator
