The 5th Annual HCA Awards

I’m not sure I have ever posted these but maybe we have. The HCAs are proof that if you build it, they will come. Longtime readers of this site know that we tend to look mildly askance at made-up film critic groups but that’s because back in the day there was some distinction between Joe Anybody and actual film critics. It was much harder to be one. I used to have great respect for the job of “critic,” as I do for the job of “journalist,” which is why I never call myself either of these things. But the internet changed that. Anyone can cook, essentially. You simply have to declare yourself something and you are that thing. And so it goes with the HCAs. They are run by Scott and Ashley Menzel who are decent and honest people. Our very own Mark Johnson and Shadan Larki are members. They appear to be following in the footsteps of the Critics Choice, or the BFCA and studios appear to be taking them just as seriously (screenings, swag, interviews, etc).

However, I do not put them or the Critics Choice in the category of influencers. I put them in the category of consensus building. Awards that throw in everything but the kitchen sink rarely can influence. It is the ones that exclude and are selective that often have the most influence. That is why the Golden Globes, in addition to their popular TV show, have influence. And why the National Board of Review has influence. But if just about anyone can get in for any reason it’s harder to make that case.

Anyway, here you go. The nominations.

Best Picture

Being the Ricardos
Belfast
CODA
Dune
King Richard
Last Night in Soho
Licorice Pizza
Spencer
The Power of The Dog
tick, tick…Boom!

Best Actor

Andrew Garfield, tick, tick…BOOM!
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of The Dog
Nicolas Cage, Pig
Peter Dinklage, Cyrano
Will Smith, King Richard

Best Actress

Emilia Jones, CODA
Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Kristen Stewart, Spencer
Lady Gaga, House of Gucci
Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos

Best Supporting Actor

Ciarán Hinds, Belfast
Jamie Dornan, Belfast
Jason Isaacs, Mass
Robin de Jesús, tick, tick…BOOM!
Troy Kotsur, CODA
Best Supporting Actress

Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard
Caitriona Balfe, Belfast
Marlee Matlin, CODA
Ruth Negga, Passing

Best Cast Ensemble

Belfast
CODA
Don’t Look Up
King Richard
The Harder They Fall

Best Director

Denis Villeneuve, Dune
Guillermo del Toro, Nightmare Alley
Jane Campion, The Power of The Dog
Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
Lin-Manuel Miranda, tick, tick…BOOM!
Pablo Larraín, Spencer
Rebecca Hall, Passing
Reinaldo Marcus Green, King Richard
Siân Heder, CODA
Steven Spielberg, West Side Story

Best Original Screenplay

Aaron Sorkin, Being the Ricardos
Edgar Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns, Last Night in Soho
Fran Kranz, Mass
Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
Zach Baylin, King Richard

Best Adapted Screenplay

Jane Campion, The Power of The Dog
Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter
Rebecca Hall, Passing
Siân Heder, CODA
Steven Levenson, tick, tick…BOOM!

Best Animated or VSX Performance

Abbi Jacobson, The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Sylvester Stallone, The Suicide Squad
Stephanie Beatriz, Encanto
Jacob Tremblay, Luca
John Leguizamo, Encanto

Best Action Film

No Time to Die
Nobody
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
The Harder They Fall
The Suicide Squad

Best Animated Film

Encanto
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Raya and The Last Dragon

Best Comedy or Musical

Cyrano
Free Guy
In the Heights
tick, tick…BOOM!
West Side Story

Best Documentary

Flee
Summer of Soul
The Rescue
The Sparks Brothers
Val

Best Horror

A Quiet Place Part II
Fear Street Trilogy
Last Night in Soho
Malignant
The Night House

Best Indie Film

CODA
Mass
Pig
Shiva Baby
Spencer

Best International Film

A Hero
Drive My Car
Flee
Titane
The Worst Person in the World

Best First Feature

Rebecca Hall, Passing
Lin-Manuel Miranda, tick, tick…BOOM!
Fran Kranz, Mass
Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter
Michael Sarnoski, Pig

Best Short Film

Blush
Far From The Tree
Nona
Robin Robin
Us Again

Best Score

Alexandre Desplat, The French Dispatch
Hans Zimmer, Dune
Jonny Greenwood, Spencer
Jonny Greenwood, The Power of The Dog
Steven Price, Last Night in Soho

Best Original Song

“Be Alive” sung by Beyonce from King Richard
“No Time to Die” sung by Billie Eilish from No Time to Die
“Beyond the Shore” sung by Emilia Jones from CODA
“Down to Joy” sung by Van Morrison from Belfast
“Every Letter” sung by Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. from Cyrano

Best Cinematography

Andrew Droz Palermo, The Green Knight
Ari Wegner, The Power of The Dog
Claire Mathon, Spencer
Greig Fraser, Dune
Janusz Kamiński, West Side Story

Best Production Design

Adam Stockhausen, The French Dispatch
Guy Hendrix Dyas, Spencer
Marcus Rowland, Last Night in Soho
Patrice Vermette, Dune
Tamara Deverell, Nightmare Alley

Best Film Editing

Andrew Weisblum and Myron I. Kerstein, tick, tick…BOOM!
Joe Walker, Dune
Pamela Martin, King Richard
Paul Machliss, Last Night in Soho
Úna Ní Dhonghaíle, Belfast

Best Stunts

Black Widow
Dune
No Time to Die
Nobody
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Best Costume Design

Bob Morgan and Jacqueline West, Dune
Jacqueline Durran, Spencer
Janty Yates, House of Gucci
Jenny Beavan, Cruella
Odile Dicks-Mireaux, Last Night in Soho

Best Hair & Makeup

Ana Lozano, David Craig Forrest, Kim Santantonio, Kyra Panchenko, Michael Ornelaz, Teressa Hill, Yvonne DePatis Kupka, Being the Ricardos
Carolyn Cousins and Nadia Stacey, Cruella
Donald Mowat, Eva Von Bahr, and Love Larson, Dune
Frederic Aspiras, Jana Carboni, Giuliano Mariano, Göran Lundström, & Sarah Nicole Tanno, House of Gucci
Justin Raleigh, Linda Dowds, and Stephanie Ingram, The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Best Visual Effects

Brian Connor, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert, and Tristan Myles, Dune
Daniele Bigi, Matt Aitken, Neil Corbould, and Stephane Ceretti, Eternals
Bryan Grill, Dan Sudick, Nikos Kalaitzidis, and Swen Gillberg, Free Guy
Christopher Townsend, Dan Oliver, Joe Farrell, and Sean Walker, Shang Chi And The Legend of Ten Rings
Dan Sudick, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, and Kelvin McIlwain, The Suicide Squad