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The 2020 Matt Awards (Nominations)


     Having been a big Leonardo DiCaprio fan since the mid-1990s, I was disappointed when he wasn't nominated for an Oscar for his role in Titanic. Thus, in early 1998, began what was to become an annual tradition -- The Matt Awards. Perhaps one of the most egotistical things on God's green earth, every year I proceed to select the best in movie making, as a sort of consolation for the fact that very rarely do the Academy Awards align with my own yearly favorites.

I used to do both nominations and then, a few weeks, pick the winners. After awhile I just went straight to the winners circle. This year, however, I feel like there were so many good movies from 2019 that I wanted to at least acknowledge their filmmakers with nominations. In a couple of weeks (before the Oscars ceremony), I will make announce the winners. No doubt you will all be on tenterhooks waiting for who will go home with coveted Matt Prize.

Here, then, are the nominees:

Best Picture
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Parasite
The Peanut Butter Falcon
Photograph


Best Director
Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre  for  The Mustang
Robert Eggers  for  The Lighthouse
Greta Gerwig  for  Little Women
Marielle Heller  for  A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Bong Joon Ho  for  Parasite


Best Actor
Willem Dafoe  for  The Lighthouse
Taron Egerton  for  Rocketman
Viveik Kalra  for  Blinded by the Light
George MacKay  for  1917
Kang-ho Song  for  Parasite


Best Actress
Awkwafina  for  The Farewell
Yeo-jeong Jo  for  Parasite
Julianne Moore  for  Gloria Bell
Saoirse Ronan  for  Little Women
Lupita Nyong'o  for  Us


Best Supporting Actor
Woo-sik Choi  for  Parasite
Roman Griffin Davis  for JoJo  Rabbit
Zack Gottsagen  for  The Peanut Butter Falcon
Tom Hanks  for  A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Noah Jupe  for  Honey Boy


Best Supporting Actress
Farrukh Jaffar  for  Photograph
Dakota Johnson  for  The Peanut Butter Falcon
Thomasin McKenzie  for  JoJo Rabbit
Emma Thompson  for  Late Night
Susan Kelechi Watson  for  A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood


Best Screenplay
Julian Fellowes  for  Downtown Abbey
Noah Harpster & Micah Fitzerman-Blue  for  A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Shia LaBeouf  for  Honey Boy
Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz  for  The Peanut Butter Falcon
Quentin Tarantino  for  Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood


Best Cinematography
Jarsin Blaschke  for  The Lighthouse
Tim Gillis & Ben Kutchins  for  Photograph
Hoyte Van Hoytema  for  Ad Astra
Pawel Pogorzelski  for  Midsommar
Robert Richardson  for  Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood


Best Score
Hildur Guonadottir  for  Joker
Jaeil Jung  for  Parasite
Daniel Lopatin  for  Uncut Gems
John Lunn  for  Downton Abbey
Max Richter  for  Ad Astra


Best Editing
Jeffrey Ford & Matthew Schmidt  for  Avengers: Endgame
Nat Fuller & Kevin Tent  for  The Peanut Butter Falcon
Anne McCabe  for  A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Evan Schiff  for  John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum
Jinmo Yang  for  Parasite


Best Documentary
The Biggest Little Farm
Honeyland
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice


This list of nominees doesn't even scratch the surface of all the talent -- both in front of and behind the camera -- from 2019, but it helps me feel better to recognize at least a few of the people who helped make it such an enjoyable year for cinema.

As I mentioned earlier, I will announce the winners in a couple of weeks.


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