SPECIAL: Winners of the fifth annual Chicago Indie Critics Awards

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM AND THE LATE CHADWICK BOSEMAN LEAD ALL WINNERS AT THE 5TH ANNUAL FILM AWARDS FROM CHICAGO INDIE CRITICS

Image courtesy of Netflix

The 17 dedicated and talented members of Chicago Indie Critics cast their final ballots this week to declare the winners of 23 categories for their fifth annual film awards. Recorded for video presentation on the group’s YouTube channel, the CIC film critics came together to celebrate the year and recognize the best in film for 2020. 

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, directed by George C. Wolfe and adapted from August Wilson’s stage play, dominated this year’s CIC Awards, winning seven of its nine nominations. Topmost, the Netflix original film was named the Best Studio Film in a tie with another offering from the streaming leader, Best Director winner Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom also won awards for adapted screenplay, lead actor, lead actress, ensemble cast, costume design, and makeup. 

Starring in both of those victorious films, beloved late actor Chadwick Boseman was prominently honored by the CIC. Boseman won posthumous awards for Best Actor (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Best Supporting Actor (Da 5 Bloods), and special recognition as the recipient of the group’s Impact Award celebrating a person whose work during the past year or beyond made a positive influence on society. Also of note, Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland won Best Independent Film and Small Axe anthology filmmaker Steve McQueen won the CIC’s Trailblazer Award honoring the work of an artist who truly pushed the boundaries of the medium in terms of form and content.

Founded in 2016, Chicago Indie Critics is a creative and engaging non-for-profit organization composed of unique, dedicated, and diversified film critics.  Its members are wide-ranging in experiences, backgrounds, tastes, and target audiences across both print and online platforms. The CIC organized to share their assessments, commentaries, passions, and creativity in the vigilant effort to highlight the greatness and diversity found in both independent and mainstream films. While they originate in the Chicagoland area, the efforts of Chicago Indie Critics are to share, celebrate, and promote the rich artistic medium of film to audiences, fans, and eager minds across the nation and the world as an exemplary and upstanding pillar of intelligent print and broadcast journalism.

CIC DIRECTORS:

Emmanuel Noisette, Don Shanahan, El’Ahrai Stanek

CIC MEMBERS:

Annie Banks,  Leo Brady, Mike Crowley, Jonita Davis, Jon Espino, Cati Glidewell, Ryan Jagiello, John Hammerle, Matt Kubinski, Al Lerner, Linda Lerner, Kevin McLenithan, Josh Parham, John Robinson, Andrea Thompson, Mike Vanderbilt, Kevin Wozniak, Jeffrey York

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The complete list of the winners of the 2020 CIC Awards:

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM (budgets under $20 million)

NOMADLAND

Producers: Frances McDorman, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, and Chloe Zhao

BEST STUDIO FILM (budgets over $20 million)

DA 5 BLOODS (tie)

Producers: John Kilik, Spike Lee, Beatriz Levin, and Lloyd Levin

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM (tie)

Producers: Denzel Washington, Todd Black, and Dany Wolf

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

HIS HOUSE

Producers: Aidan Elliott, Martin Gentles, Arnon Milchan, Ed King, and Roy Lee

BEST DOCUMENTARY

BOYS STATE

Producers: Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss

BEST ANIMATED FILM

SOUL

Producers: Dana Murray

BEST DIRECTOR

Spike Lee, DA 5 BLOODS

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN - Emerald Fennell (tie)

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 - Aaron Sorkin (tie)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM - Ruben Santiago-Hudson

BEST ACTOR

Chadwick Boseman, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

BEST ACTRESS

Viola Davis, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Chadwick Boseman, DA 5 BLOODS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Maria Bakalova, BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Donald Graham Burt, MANK

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Joshua James Richards, NOMADLAND

BEST EDITING

Alan Baumgarten, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

BEST MUSICAL SCORE

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, SOUL

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Speak Now” - ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

Written by Leslie Odom Jr. and Sam Ashworth, Performed by Leslie Odom Jr.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Jonathan Dearing and Dan Oliver, THE INVISIBLE MAN

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Ann Roth, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

BEST MAKEUP

Matiki Anoff, Sergio Lopez-Rivera, and Mia Neal, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

SPECIAL AWARDS

TRAILBLAZER AWARD 

Honors the work of an artist who truly pushes the boundaries of the medium in terms of form and content

Steve McQueen

IMPACT AWARD

Given to a person whose work has had a positive impact on society

Chadwick Boseman

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CIC AWARD WINS BY THE NUMBERS

7: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

3: Da 5 Bloods

2: Nomadland, Soul, The Trial of the Chicago 7

1: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Boys State, His House, The Invisible Man, Mank, One Night in Miami, Promising Young Woman

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The complete list of nominees for the 2020 CIC Awards:

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM (budgets under $20 million)

THE FATHER

FIRST COW

NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS

NOMADLAND

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

BEST STUDIO FILM (budgets over $20 million)

DA 5 BLOODS

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

MANK

SOUL

TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

ANOTHER ROUND

BACURAU

BEANPOLE

HIS HOUSE

THE LIFE AHEAD

BEST DOCUMENTARY

BOYS STATE

DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD

RISING PHOENIX

THE SOCIAL DILEMMA

TIME

BEST ANIMATED FILM

ONWARD

OVER THE MOON

SOUL

THE WILLOUGHBYS

WOLFWALKERS

BEST DIRECTOR

Emerald Fennell, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Spike Lee, DA 5 BLOODS

George C. Wolfe, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Florian Zeller, THE FATHER

Chloe Zhao, NOMADLAND

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

MANK - Jack Fincher

NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS - Eliza Hittman

PALM SPRINGS - Andy Siara

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN - Emerald Fennell

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 - Aaron Sorkin

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

THE FATHER - Florian Zeller

FIRST COW - Kelly Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond

I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS - Charlie Kaufman

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM - Ruben Santiago-Hudson

NOMADLAND - Chloe Zhao

BEST ACTOR

Riz Ahmed, SOUND OF METAL

Chadwick Boseman, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Anthony Hopkins, THE FATHER

Delroy Lindo, DA 5 BLOODS

Steven Yeun, MINARI

BEST ACTRESS

Nicole Beharie, MISS JUNETEENTH

Viola Davis, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Sidney Flanigan, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS

Frances McDormand, NOMADLAND

Carey Mulligan, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Chadwick Boseman, DA 5 BLOODS

Bo Burnham, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Sacha Baron Cohen, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Frank Langella, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Bill Murray, ON THE ROCKS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Maria Bakalova, BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM

Olivia Colman, THE FATHER

Talia Ryder, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS

Amanda Seyfried, MANK

Youn Yuh-jung, MINARI

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

DA 5 BLOODS

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

MINARI

ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

DA 5 BLOODS

EMMA

JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY

MANK

NOMADLAND

TENET

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

EMMA

JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

MANK

TENET

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

EMMA

JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

MANK

SYLVIE’S LOVE

BEST MAKEUP

BIRDS OF PREY

EMMA

JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

POSSESSOR

BEST EDITING

THE FATHER

NOMADLAND

TENET

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

WANDER DARKLY

BEST MUSICAL SCORE

MANK 

THE MIDNIGHT SKY

MINARI

SOUL

TENET

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Husavik” - EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA

“Loyal Brave True” - MULAN

“Speak Now” - ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

“This Day” - JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY

“Wuhan Flu” - BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

THE INVISIBLE MAN

JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY

THE MIDNIGHT SKY

TENET

WONDER WOMAN 1984

SPECIAL AWARDS

TRAILBLAZER AWARD 

Honors the work of an artist who truly pushes the boundaries of the medium in terms of form and content

Radha Blank

Chadwick Boseman

Emerald Fennell

Steve McQueen

Chloe Zhao

IMPACT AWARD

Given to a person whose work has had a positive impact on society

Chadwick Boseman

Garrett Bradley

Scott H. Dehn

Ryan Oestreich

Chloe Zhao

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CIC AWARD NOMINATIONS BY THE NUMBERS

FILMS:

9: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

7: Mank, The Trial of the Chicago 7

6: Da 5 Bloods, The Father, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, Nomadland

5: Promising Young Woman, Tenet

4: Emma, Minari, Never Really Sometimes Always

3: Soul

2: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, First Cow, The Midnight Sky, One Night in Miami

1: Another Round, Bacurau, Beanpole, Birds of Prey, Boys State, Dick Johnson is Dead, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, His House, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, The Invisible Man, The Life Ahead, Miss Juneteenth, Mulan, On the Rocks, Onward, Over the Moon, Palm Springs, Possessor, Rising Phoenix, The Social Dilemma, Soul, Sound of Metal, Sylvia’s Love, Time, Wander Darkly, The Willoughbys, Wolfwalkers, Wonder Woman 1984

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COLUMN: New Year's Resolutions for the Movie Industry for 2021

(Image by Muharrem Aner for Getty via The Daily Beast)

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR THE MOVIE INDUSTRY FOR 2021

Plenty of regular everyday people make New Year’s Resolutions, but I think bigger entities, namely movie makers and movie moguls, need to make them too. Annually, including this tenth edition, I have fun taking the movie industry to task for things they need to change, even if I got to do it every week in a different ranting way on my “What We Learned This Week” column contribution for the Feelin’ Film Podcast website. Loyal readers and followers of that podcast and column will get my cadence. I have no false internet courage to be a Twitter troll. As always, some resolutions come true while others get mentioned and reiterated every year. Boy, was this a turd of a year for the movies, eh? There’s so much to say about so little that transpired with a predominantly locked-down marketplace. 

#1: TAKE THIS PAUSE TO REEVALUATE HOW YOU DO BUSINESS

Well, it looks like all of that “too big to fail” karma caught up to the movie industry this year in an extremely unexpected way. Not even the best financial planner’s prognostications could ever account for a global pandemic. The most wild of “what ifs” became true where an unforeseen calamity forced near-complete closure. Just look how it turned out. 

Theater companies are bankrupt and closing. Billionaire studios feel double-digit percentage losses. Thousands of below-the-title workers are jobless. Every proverbial bath and haircut has been taken at every level, and the pandemic is still not over. What course correction has all this caused? Too little, if you ask me. 

I see more studios holding pat with their excessive spending (Disney) and hubris (Tenet) than entities taking this huge sting and changing their levels of efficiency. We’re seeing some pivots to the streaming/digital platforms, but those measures are being taken as face-saving moves when they’re actually shrewder plays that should happen more often. It’s almost to a point where if a disastrous year like the last one isn’t enough to make them scale down, smarten up, and change then nothing ever will. Maybe it’ll take two years of closure because that’s not out of the realm of possibilities. 

#2: REINVENT MOVIE THEATERS

Years of shrinking the theater-to-home window and receipt percentage battles with studios already forced movie theaters to jack up ticket and concession prices to remain profitable. It was reaching the point where a typical family would be better suited skipping an expensive theater trip and waiting the three short months (or less) to stream a movie at home on their big screen 4K TVs that look and sound good enough. And then the pandemic hit and zero revenue was coming to theaters, crippling them to the point of decimation.

Much like the reevaluation necessary from Resolution #1, change is needed with movie theaters amid the new norms for public health and belt-tightened economy. Theaters can’t pack people in like sardines anymore if there’s a virus in the air. Maybe the 30-screen multiplex of stadium seating needs to shrink to 15 comfy and socially distant screens with the pods and sofas. The studio’s math will say that kind of reduction of butts and seats reduces earning potential. Yes, it does, but it beats zero earnings. We’re at that point where change is needed and a government bailout isn’t coming to a non-essential economic driver. Movie theaters aren’t the auto industry.

What theaters have that nothing at home can match is the big screen experience. That’s still magical. That still matters, it just may not matter for every single movie. The other thing is who will be around to pay for this kind of change and survive being in business. It’s going to take new innovations or new investments in old ones like drive-in movie theaters, which I’m all for. Still, what could all that look like? I’ll borrow a prediction from my recent Feelin’ Film “What We Learned This Week” column.

Mark your calendars for August 2022. With the old Paramount Decrees rescinded as of August 2020, studios can open and run their own theaters after a two-year sunset period. The WBs and Disneys of the block can pivot to streaming, sit back, and watch the AMCs, Cinemarks, and Regals bleed to death. They can buy them at their lowest point and rebrand them as their own with no old rules. Imagine a “Disney Theater” with their old mall-closed Disney Store gift shop filling the lobby. They will look triumphant in 2022 when it’s the studios that “bring theaters back” with their own labels.  Best of all for them, they buy out or shove away the middle-man profit sharing they’ve tried to squash for decades. Every dollar goes back to them. It’s ugly, but it’s survival and reinvention. Let’s see where we’re at this time next year.

#3: MAKE SMALLER MOVIES

Theaters are still the top marketplace for movies to earn the most dollars. That’s where the billions are made. Go back to that “too big to fail” karma. Budgets have grown north of $200 million (before marketing) for the top-level blockbusters for years, but they always had the big screen money primed for them. With theaters closed, the biggest revenue source went down the toilet. There was no chance for PVOD fees and streaming subscriptions to make back the Tenet-sized budgets of the big hitters out there, or even the high-end luxury vehicles like Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman and its $159 million budget. Full delays are in progress not because the studios don’t want these movies in front of eyes, but because there aren’t enough dollars to go with those eyes at home with no theaters.

Now, what the streaming and PVOD marketplaces can earn enough for are smaller movies. Look at Trolls World Tour and it’s success versus its budget. There’s a wide open market for that class of movie. I’ve preached this to anyone that will listen that it’s time for studios to go back to their 1990s business models of the mid-budget programmer. Have a single big star joined by steady character actors, more practical effects than costly CGI, a tighter scope, and price tag around or below $50 million. 

You remember movies like The Fugitive and Forrest Gump. They cost $44 million and $55 million respectively and earned back more than ten times that. They were quality over quantity. The crazy thing is there’s enough money in the business to make a quantity of quality. Make five of those mid-budget programmers versus one big $200 million monster that, in this current situation, can’t make its money back. 2020 should have been a year where indies and mid-budget films take over the world as marketable and viable properties. It doesn’t have to be that tiny, but less would go a long way when done right. Quality rises and everyone wins.

#4: DON’T TURN INTO CABLE

Streaming services have been taking a big bite out of traditional cable services for years. With closed theaters, their convenience and quality movie options brought a huge spike of homebound consumers. Look at Netflix’s numbers, HBO Max’s, and those of Disney+. Folks are flocking there and the promises of new content grow by the day with the closed theaters. 

The key to this sustaining is the bubble of price point. What has long made streaming services victorious are those sub-$15 monthly price points versus $100+ monthly cable bills. The problem is every large entity wants their own Netflix instead of paying Netflix to offer their stuff. AT&T-owned Warner Bros. has doubled down on HBO Max and ported over Turner Classic Movies from cable. Disney bought out full control of Hulu Plus from Comcast in addition to their expanding their own brand. There are still the smaller shingles like The Criterion Channel, premium YouTube, and the pop-up of new smaller spots like NBCUniversal’s new Peacock service which can grow in time. 

Get some or all of those services and the stack of price tags are adding up. Throw in the monthly price of decent wifi (laugh away, Comcast and AT&T, at the double dip) to make it run smoothly and we’re likely back to the $100+-per-month cost of cable. If you’re OK with that because of the content quality and diversity versus cable’s volume, great, but, once again, we’re in a pandemic with thinner wallets and people making choices between wants and needs. Now isn’t the time to price gouge, even if it’s one or two more dollars like Netflix. Be savvy consumers and take advantage of bundle deals, physical media that last longer than digital stuff you don’t really own, libraries, and free services out there like Hoopla and Kanopy.

#5: DON’T STOP SUPPORTING MINORITY VOICES

This is a repeat from a resolution for 2020 and a worthy one. 2019 was a banner year for minority and women film directors. Even though the overall output for 2020 was smaller, new voices kept coming and accounting themselves with stellar work. Take a look at this list from The Film Stage of the best directorial debuts of this past year. Hollywood (and not just Disney buying up auteurs like Chloe Zhao and Barry Jenkins), take that list of people and keep them working. Open your checkbooks to Emerald Fennell, Regina King, Roseanne Liang, Shannon Murphy, Remi Weeks, Channing Godfrey Peoples, Lee Isaac Chung, and more. 

#6: CORRECT THIS ASTERISK OF AN AWARDS SEASON

There is no good reason why the Oscars needed to be delayed until the end of April 2021. They say they still want an in-person awards show with red carpet glamour. Read the room for goodness sake. This pandemic isn’t going away fast enough and it’s killing people. There is no need to put good people in harm’s way for aloof people to congratulate themselves with pretty things for an asterisk of a year at an awards show that has had dwindling TV ratings for the better part of two decades.

If you ask the general public, we’re going to want to be done talking about 2020 at 12:01am in our given time zone on January 1, 2021. This is a year where there isn’t a juggernaut contender of crossover appeal for solid “come back to love the movies” ratings anyway, unless voters are giving everything to Disney/Pixar’s Soul, and even that is a stretch. 

Not enough people are going to care about any 2020 titles four months into a new year. Even sillier, by delaying from the usual qualification deadline, which would be today December 31st in fact, you’re going to end up ballooning one year (longer) and shrinking another one (2021), both in unfair fashions, if you snap the calendar back to normal in 2022. Do what the rest of us are doing. Leave 2020 to 2020. Move on and make a new year. Don’t drag this out longer.  

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GUEST EDITORIAL: Do Movies Predict the Future or Influence It?

Image: npr.org

Do Movies Predict the Future or Influence It?

By Kevin Gardner

It is always strange when you are watching an old movie and see a far-fetched scenario that has since played out in the real world. Did the movie writers have privileged information about some new gadget? Maybe a child who watched that movie was inspired and grew up to design something similar. Either could be possible. On the other hand, there are some movies that predict social issues and world events that nobody could have imagined. 

Tech Toys

Any science fiction movie fan has witnessed gadgets in movies becoming reality. In Dick Tracy, the iconic detective constantly spoke into his wrist radio. Dick Tracy was known for using technology to fight crime. The first mention of a wrist radio was seen in the comic book series in 1946. Many believe this was the catalyst for smartwatches and other types of wearable devices. 

In 2001: A Space Odyssey, many futuristic devices were conceptualized. One of the most notable being the tablet computer, which was released only nine years after the year the movie was set. In the movie, technology like the tough tablet was used by astronauts to watch TV. 

The movie Hackers predicted a ton of technological and social advances. From hackers being employed by companies for strategic attacks, to on-demand television streaming services, this movie got a lot right. One gadget that the movie revealed with surprising accuracy is the concept of virtual reality gaming. In one scene, Eugene is playing a virtual reality game, looking very similar to what is available today. He wears a face mask and holds controllers in each hand, exactly like the gaming devices popular now. He is even standing on a platform that is akin to OMNI's virtual reality peripheral. 

Transportation

The idea of flying cars and hoverboards have been popping up in movies since The Jetsons in 1960. Although there are some concept vehicles out today with these capabilities, they are not available to the general public. However, self-driving cars, like the one seen in Total Recall, are now in cities all over the world. In the movie, the driver was replaced by a mechanical robot named Johnny. Self-driving cars today still require a human in the driver's seat, which shows society is still not comfortable seeing an empty car driving down the road. 

The Terminator from 1984 gave flight to the idea of drones. In the movie, military drones carry weapons that are used to fly around and fire at people. Who knows if this idea was on the military's radar at the time. Since then, drones have been made for recreational and professional purposes. One day soon, packages may be delivered by drones. Although this idea may have been inspired by the movie, the use of drones has far surpassed anything the Terminator could have guessed.

Social Media

The Truman Show was released in 1999 and predicted a society obsessed with reality TV. The conflict of this movie centers around whether society's entertainment is worth one man's freedom. This idea could not be more relevant today when social media and reality TV pushes the boundaries of people's conduct. Reality shows today strand people on desert islands or in swanky penthouses, and fans sit back to watch. Whether this movie influenced current reality TV or predicted it, the cautionary tale is one that needs to be told. 

As the internet entered everyone's lives, the movie You've Got Mail was released on the big screen. This movie predicted how relationships would evolve within online platforms. Current dating apps are a far cry from the correspondence seen in the movie. However, this movie was the first to explore how people would connect in the future. 

Whether these movies inspired or predicted technology and social issues, it's interesting to investigate what they got right. Maybe the movies in theaters today have already predicted the next great invention. Or, maybe the next great innovator is being inspired today. 

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