'EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert' leads Best Music Documentary nominees at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards

I closed yesterday's post by telling my readers, "Stay tuned to see if I resume my Critics Choice Documentary Awards coverage" today. I got a late start, so I'm covering a category with a clear leader that has only four total nominations, Best Music Documentary.

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY

Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World) (HBO Max)
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (Neon)
Man on the Run (Amazon MGM Studios)
Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Peter Asher: Everywhere Man (Greenwich Entertainment)
Sara Bareilles: Good Grief (Group Effort Films / Naked Edge Films)

The clear leader is EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert with four total nominations. It's followed by Man on the Run with two, and the rest of the nominees with only this one nomination. Based on the number of nominations and Baz Luhrmann being an established director with two Oscar nominations, including one for Elvis, I'm picking his movie as the favorite to win this award.

BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (Neon)
Making Marie Antoinette (Mubi)
Man on the Run (Amazon MGM Studios)
Once Upon a Time in Harlem (Neon)
Rehearsals for a Revolution (Sony Pictures Classics)
Remake (Music Box Films)

The other nomination for Man on the Run and one of the three other nominations for EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is for Best Archival Documentary. I doubt either will win this category. Instead, I believe it will be one of the three nominees also nominated for Best Documentary, Once Upon a Time in Harlem, Rehearsals for a Revolution, and Remake. I might reassess this category when I cover Best Historical Documentary, but until then, my provisional pick is Once Upon a Time in Harlem, which earned five nominations, while Rehearsals for a Revolution and Remake have four. For what it's worth, Gold Derby has Once Upon a Time in Harlem second in its odds to earn an Oscar nomination for Documentary Feature, Rehearsals for a Revolution seventh, and Remake eleventh, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert 18th, and Man on the Run 21st, which reinforces my intuition. Making Marie Antoinette isn't even rated. That written, Gold Derby is second-guessing a different electorate, and electorates matter.

Follow over the jump for EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert's two other nominations.

Happy Sweetest Day on time

Happy National Sweetest Day! Unlike last year, I'm observing the holiday on time this year.

I begin today's celebration of a day unfairly called a Hallmark Holiday with National Day Calendar's National Sweetest Day.

A perfect autumn reminder to spread a little joy! On this episode of National Day Spotlight..., Marlo Anderson...and co-host Alice Anderson are celebrating kind gestures for National Sweetest Day...They’ll focus on sharing small gifts, supportive words, and affection with generous hearts. Join them for a heartwarming and uplifting episode.

The video starts the story in Cleveland in 1921, leaving out the Detroit connection to today, which I outlined in Conflicting histories of the origin of Sweetest Day plus a drink and song to celebrate with your sweetheart, quoting National Day Calendar.

National Sweetest Day found its beginnings in a holiday founded by the National Confectioners’ Association in 1916 called Candy Day. On October 14, 1916, candy shops around the country filled newspapers announcing their sweetest treats and delights. Originally designated to be celebrated the second Saturday of every October, the confectioners’ convention in Detroit in May of 1916 made the final resolution. Walter C. Hughes, the secretary of the National Confectioners’ Association, encouraged Americans to patronizes (sic) their local candy shops, bakers, and druggist for the highest quality confections.
...
Sweetest Day’s theme of charity and giving became apparent in 1921. At the time, four Michigan confectioners united with the Red Cross. Those confectioners included the Detroit Retail Confectioners, Detroit Wholesale Confections Club, Detroit Jobbing Confectioners Association, and the Michigan Confectioners Club. Together, they distributed thousands of bags of candy to hospitals, orphanages, shelters, and homes across Michigan. The celebration also included 100 regulation army target balloons, which dropped coupons worth a box of candy.

Yes, National Day Calendar's web page still has this description.

On the other hand, the band Control Freq, which recorded "Sweetest Day," is based in Detroit, so there is another connection between the holiday and the Motor city. I found two new uploads of the song, Control Freq - Sweetest Day (album version) and Control Freq - Sweetest Day Radio Edit by Robot Repair Works, but neither will embed. Darn. As a consolation, I'm embedding Sweetest Day by Love Song Surprise again.


At least this has a cool preview image.

I close with a trailer for a horror film about the holiday, Sweetest Day Official Trailer. It was only a matter of time before an October holiday became the subject of a horror film.

Get ready to celebrate your new favorite holiday. #SweetestDayTheMovie - Coming Soon

An original independent horror/thriller: Sweetest Day.

Dorée Seay stars as Mindy, a resilient survivor confronted by a vengeful, undead Confederate soldier that nearly ended her life once before.

The film also stars Nate Boyer, Morgana Shaw, Deborah S. Craig, Chris Labadie, Mary Manofsky, Gina Su, Gaku Space, Catherine Corcoran, Andy Davoli, Kelli Maroney, Russell Todd, and Alex MacNicoll.

Doug Hawley makes his feature directorial debut adapted from his 2022 proof-of-concept short film of the same name. Hawley and Boyer penned the script, based on a story by Hawley and Seay.

Chris Gierowski, Clive Hawkins, Matthew Hersh produced alongside Hawley, Labadie and Boyer. J.W. Crane and Seay are executive producers with Logan Fulton as director of photography and original music by Frank Dormani.

IMDB lists this film as in post-production. May it be released by next Sweetest Day.

That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for more Critics Choice Documentary Awards coverage tomorrow as the Sunday entertainment feature.

'The Food That Built America,' '30 for 30,' and other nominees at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards for World Food Day and National Sports Day

I told my readers to "Stay tuned for the nominees of this year's Critics Choice Documentary Awards." Since today is World Food Day, I'm featuring the one category with food nominees.

BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES

30 for 30 (ESPN)
American Masters (PBS)
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Netflix)
The Food That Built America (History)
Hazardous History with Henry Winkler (History)
Independent Lens (PBS)
Untold (Netflix)

30 for 30 has won this award four years in a row, so it's my pick to repeat. That works for today also being National Sports Day, as does the nomination of America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, but I chose this category for The Food That Built America. In addition, American Masters includes chefs among the artists and performers it profiles, including Marcella Hazan last year, and Independent Lens has featured documentaries about food, including King Corn, which my students can watch for extra credit.

Speaking of my students, they watched Food, Inc. 2 this week. As I wrote on Talk Like A Pirate Day, I plan on writing a guide to answers to Food, Inc. 2 worksheet on National Food Day, but I'm linking to the entries now as a preview of coming attractions: Think about the fast food workers on National Fast Food Day, Vox explains 'The salmon dilemma', and New guidelines flip the food pyramid on its head. My students and I will go over the answers next week in lab, then I'll write the entry for anyone who missed class.

Follow over the jump as I shift gears from food to sports.

'The Traitors' wins seven Emmy Awards for National Coming Out Day

Happy National Coming Out Day! As promised, I'm featuring the winners of Outstanding Reality Competition Program and related categories as the Sunday entertainment feature. Time to re-examine the predictions!

RuPaul's Drag Race leads nominations with nine (eleven for the franchise), followed by six for The Traitors, five each for Dancing with the Stars and Survivor, and four for Top Chef. The prognosticators at Gold Derby orders the top two like they did last year, when I wrote 'RuPaul's Drag Race' leads nominations for Outstanding Reality Competition Program, but 'The Traitors' will likely win again. Every editor, 95.2% of experts, and 93.5% of users think The Traitors will threepeat. The fans and the professionals diverge on the next most likely, with 4.3% of users rooting for RuPaul's Drag Race to upset, while the remaining 4.8% of experts and 1.8% of users selecting Survivor. Dude, I used to be such a big Survivor fan that I was a moderator of a reality TV forum; I get it, but it's not happening this year. Top Chef trails with the last 0.4% of users, while no one is picking Dancing with the Stars.

By the time of the live televised awards, every expert and editor along with 95.9% of users had consolidated around The Traitors, Survivor sat in second with 1.9% of users, RuPaul's Drag Race dropped to third with 1.6%, 0.6% of users moved to Dancing with the Stars, and Top Chef lost all of its support. All the professionals and the overwhelming majority of users got it right. Watch Reality Competition Program: 78th Emmys.

Alan Cumming and the team behind The Traitors accept the Emmy for Outstanding Reality Competition Program at the 78th Emmys.

Yes, it is amazing how a show about treachery and betrayal can bring people together, but not surprising if one is a reality show fan like I was. Survivor did the same thing a quarter century ago. Also, thanks to Cumming for reminding the audience to register to vote. I've been slacking on that.

The rest of the show's producers got their say in The Traitors: 78th Emmy Awards Winnerview.

The team from The Traitors talks to Albert Lawrence backstage at the 78th Emmy Awards after winning the Emmy for [Competition] Series[.]

Congratulations and here's to another successful season of "people are nasty to each other and it pays."

'My Mom Jayne' wins the Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special

As I promised yesterday, I'm resuming my coverage of the winners of this year's Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Todays installment re-examines the predictions for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, beginning with the ones in 'Ocean with David Attenborough' tied with 'Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!' for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special.

Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! and Ocean with David Attenborough co-lead with six nominations each, followed by John Candy: I Like Me with five nominations and Marty, Life Is Short tied with My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay at three. Normally, I'd consider Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! and Ocean with David Attenborough to be co-favorites, but the experts, editors, and users at Gold Derby disagree. They think John Candy: I Like Me and My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay to be the favorites, with 50.0% of experts, 28.6% of editors, and 61.0% of users picking the former, while 50.0% of experts, 57.1% of editors, and 26.3% of users choosing the latter. Normally, I'd favor the editors over the experts except one of the experts picking John Candy: I Like Me is Joyce Eng, whose opinion I trust. The remaining editor(s), 14.3%, are currently voting for Ocean with David Attenborough along with 3.5% of users. The rest of the users are split between Marty, Life Is Short with 6.2% and Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! with 3.0%. I've often written that, all things being equal, the Emmy electorate will vote for a good story about themselves. The corollary is that they will vote for a nominee about a dead celebrity over a living one. The prognosticators at Gold Derby seem to agree. Again, electorates matter.

By the time of the Saturday ceremony, most of the professionals lined up behind My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay with 58.8% of the experts and 50.0% of editors, along with 34.6% of users. The majority of users, 55.9%, joined by 41.2% of experts and 37.5% of editors, stuck with John Candy: I Like Me. The remaining 12.5% of editors held their position with Ocean with David Attenborough. The professionals called it. Watch Documentary Or Nonfiction Special: 78th Emmy Awards.

The team from My Mom Jayne: A Film By Mariska Hargitay accepts the Emmy for Documentary Or Nonfiction Special at the 78th Emmy Awards.

Congratulations!

Outstanding Narrator

• Sir David Attenborough – A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough (Netflix)
• Sir David Attenborough – Ocean with David Attenborough (Nat Geo)
• Jodie Foster – Breakdown: 1975 (Netflix)
• Werner Herzog – Ghost Elephants (Nat Geo)
• Octavia Spencer – Lost Women of Alaska: "The Missing" (Investigation Discovery)

The experts, editors, and users disagree about the odds in this category, too, with 87.5% of experts and 83.0% of users but only 28.6% of editors electing for Sir David in Ocean with David Attenborough, 42.9% of editors along with 12.5% of experts and 9.4% of users choosing Octavia Spencer, and the remaining 28.6% of editors along with 2.9% of users on board with Warner Herzog. The remaining users split between Jodie Foster at 2.6% and Sir David's other nomination at 2.1%. Let's see who switches first, the experts or the editors.

The editors lost their nerve by the time of the ceremony, as 66.7% of them joined 88.9% of the experts and 82.3% of users in selecting Sir David, while only 11.1% of both experts and editors along with 11.3% stuck with Octavia Spencer. More editors, 22.2%, wanted Werner Herzog to win! The editors should have held fast, as Spencer won. Watch Narrator: 78th Emmy Awards.

Octavia Spencer accepts the Emmy for Narrator at the 78th Emmy Awards.

Congratulations to Spencer, who now has an Emmy to go along with her Oscar.

I also listed the other nominations for Ocean with David Attenborough.

The remaining four categories in which Ocean with David Attenborough earned nominations are Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program (covered in 'The Tale of Silyan' vs 'The Librarians' for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking at the Emmy Awards), Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary/Nonfiction or Reality Program (Original Dramatic Score) (sort of covered in 'Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age' earned two Emmy nominations for its VFX and music), Outstanding Sound Editing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program, and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction Program (covered in 'Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Give the Man a Prize' plus the Emmy nominees for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special).

Follow over the jump for the categories either Ocean with David Attenborough or My Mom Jayne: A Film By Mariska Hargitay won.

'South Park' mocks Trump after winning Emmy

I promised I would examine a "small" category, Outstanding Animated Series today. It turns out that the winner of this category made news. Watch Brian Tyler Cohen report South Park publicly mocks Trump after Emmy win.

I wrote about Donald "Pervert Hoover" Trump's beef with the Emmys in Melania Trump prefers Trump Tower to the White House ten years ago.

Considering that [The Apprentice] was nominated for eight nine Emmy Awards in its history, but never won, the "Emmy Idol" was the only award The Donald has ever won at the Emmys. No wonder he wanted it so bad.

As Cohen pointed out, it's the only award he's likely to get from the Television Academy, unless they decide to give him an honorary one for lifetime achievement. Fat chance.

Time to revisit the prediction for South Park's category.

Outstanding Animated Program

• Bob's Burgers: "Grand Pre-Pre-Pre-Opening" (Fox)
• Rick and Morty: "There's Something About Morty" (Adult Swim)
• The Simpsons: "Homer? A Cracker Bro?" (Fox)
• Smiling Friends: "Le Voyage Incroyable de Monsieur Grenouille" (Adult Swim)
• South Park: "Sermon on the 'Mount" (Comedy Central)
• Star Wars: Visions: "BLACK" (Disney+)

South Park leads with three nominations, followed by Star Wars: Visions with one nomination and a win, The Simpsons with two nominations, and Bob's Burgers, Rick and Morty, and Smiling Friends with just this one nomination. Gold Derby's prediction page for the Creative Arts Emmy Awards also has South Park leading, as every editor, 90.9% of experts, and 92.6% of users believe it will win with professional and user opinion split among the rest of the nominees with the remaining 9.1% of experts and 1.7% of users selecting Smiling Friends while Bob's Burgers and The Simpsons tied at 2.5% of users each, followed by Rick and Morty with the final 0.8% of users.

By the time of the ceremony, every editor and expert picked South Park to win, and the were right. Watch South Park Wins for Animated Program 78th Emmys.

I had to look up Eric Bauza, the presenter, after watching his introduction. He's a worthy successor to Mel Blanc, as well as an Emmy winner in his own right. Also, congratulations to Trey Parker and all the rest of the cast and crew of South Park!

That's a wrap for today's installment. I plan on returning to Emmy coverage on Saturday because tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Stay tuned.

Previous posts about the 2026 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards

• 'The Tale of Silyan' vs 'The Librarians' for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking at the Emmy Awards
• Drink to Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show's Emmy nominations on National Piña Colada Day
• 'Desi Lydic Foxsplains Trump's Big Beautiful Ballroom' plus the short form nominees at the Emmy Awards
• 'Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Give the Man a Prize' plus the Emmy nominees for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special
• 'Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age' earned two Emmy nominations for its VFX and music
• 'Oceans with David Attenborough' tied with 'Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!' for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special
• 'Mr. Scorsese' vs. 'The American Revolution' for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series plus Data Centers on Earth Overshoot Day
• 'The Daily Show' examines Fauci's testimony and RFK Hospital plus Emmy nominations for 'The Daily Show'
• John Oliver examines 'Trump & Crypto' plus Emmy nominations for 'Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'
• 'Love on the Spectrum' leads Unstructured Reality Program at the Emmy Awards
• Gold Derby predicts 'Antiques Roadshow' will win Outstanding Structured Reality Program at the Emmys
• 'Jeopardy!' predicted to repeat as Outstanding Game Show at the Emmy Awards
• Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show leads Outstanding Variety Special (Live) at the Emmys
• 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's final Emmy nominations
• 'The Muppet Show' leads Taylor Swift and 'Wicked' for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) at the Emmys
• 'South Park' leads Outstanding Animated Series while 'Star Wars: Visions' has already won an Emmy
• 'Remarkably Bright Creatures' leads Outstanding TV Movie nominees at the Emmys
• It's Saturday, so here are SNL's eleven Emmy nominations
• Once again, 'RuPaul's Drag Race' leads nominations for Outstanding Reality Competition Program, but 'The Traitors' will likely win for the third time
• 'DTF St. Louis' vs 'Beef' at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards
• Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime show wins seven Emmys
• 'The Muppet Show' wins four Emmy Awards
• 'DTF St. Louis' won six Emmy Awards and could beat 'Beef' for Outstanding Limited Series

'The Muppet Show' wins four Emmy Awards

I'm resuming my Emmy Awards coverage by re-examining my predictions from 'The Muppet Show' leads Taylor Swift and 'Wicked' for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) at the Emmys because The Muppet Show was one of the big winners of the first night of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, taking home four statuettes. Here are the categories it won.

Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded)

• Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable... (Netflix)
• The Muppet Show (Disney+)
• Nikki Glaser: Good Girl (Hulu)
• Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show (Disney+)
• Wicked: One Wonderful Night (NBC)

The Muppet Show and Wicked: One Wonderful Night co-lead with six nominations each, followed by Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show with five, Nikki Glaser: Good Girl with three, and Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable... with two. Gold Derby's prediction page for the Creative Arts Emmy Awards also has The Muppet Show leading with 90% of experts, 33.3% of editors, and 71.3% of users electing it to win. They reverse Wicked: One Wonderful Night and Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show as the latter has the vote of the remaining 10% of experts and 66.7% of editors plus 18.0% while the former only has the support of 8.2% of users. The professionals are split! The users also reverse Nikki Glaser: Good Girl and Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable... with the former ranked fifth at 0.8% and the latter in fourth with 1.6%.

The editors and experts equalized at 77.8% each making The Muppet Show their first choice along with 72.3% of users by the eve of the awards, on bulk a consolidation of opinion. The remaining 22.2% of editors and experts plus 19.5% of users stuck with Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show, while Wicked: One Wonderful Night retained 5.5% of users, followed by 2.2% determining that Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable... would win and 0.4% naming Nikki Glaser: Good Girl as the victor. As the majority predicted, The Muppet Show won. Watch as The Muppet Show Wins for Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) 78th Emmys by the Television Academy.

The special won on the 50th anniversary of the series premiere. That's wild! Also, congratulations to everyone involved, including Sabrina Carpenter, who IMDB lists as an executive producer. She and Bad Bunny are now halfway to an EGOT!

Follow over the jump for the rest of The Muppet Show's Emmys.

'Remarkably Bright Creatures' leads Outstanding TV Movie nominees at the Emmys

I'm returning to the Emmy Awards for the Sunday entertainment feature with one of only two remaining program categories that I usually cover, Outstanding Television Movie. Here are the nominees at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Outstanding Movie

• Heads of State (Prime Video)
• Miss You, Love You (HBO)
• People We Meet on Vacation (Netflix)
• Remarkably Bright Creatures (Netflix)
• Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War (Prime Video)

Remarkably Bright Creatures leads nominations with three, followed by Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War with two, and Heads of State, Miss You, Love You, and People We Meet on Vacation with one each. Gold Derby's prediction page for the Creative Arts Emmy Awards also has Remarkably Bright Creatures leading, as every editor and expert plus 97.9% of users have selected it to win. Heads of State, Miss You, Love You, and People We Meet on Vacation split the remaining user vote with 0.7% each. Despite having two nominations, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War has no users choosing it.

Next a category recognized at the Primetime Emmy Awards, 78th Emmy Nominations: Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

The nominees for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie are Claire Danes, Sally Field, Carey Mulligan, Sarah Pidgeon and Sarah Snook.

The prognosticators at Gold Derby see this as a much more competitive contest than for TV Movie. Carey Mulligan leads as the choice of 70% of experts, 50% of editors, and 69.7%, but the professionals and fans differ on the next choice, with 10% of experts, 33.3% of editors, and 7.1% of users picking Sally Fields while 10% of experts and 17.3% of users selecting Sarah Snook. Sarah Pigeon also has the support of 10% of experts along with 16.7% of editors and 4.8% of users. Claire Danes is the choice of the remaining 1% of users.

Back to the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score)

• All Her Fault: "Episode 7" – Jeff Beal (Peacock)
• The Beast in Me: "The Beast and Me" – Sean Callery and Sara Barone (Netflix)
• Black Rabbit: "Isle of Joy" – Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans (Netflix)
• In the Blink of an Eye – Thomas Newman (Hulu)
• Washington Black: "If You See My Mama, Whisper Her This..." – Cameron Moody (Hulu)

All Her Fault leads the nominees at Gold Derby with the support of 86.7% of experts, 83.3% of editors, and 92.7% of users, followed by The Beast in Me with 6.7% of experts, 16.7% of editors, and 5.5% of users, with the rest divided between experts and users. In the Blink of an Eye, the sole movie nominee, has the vote of 6.7% of experts, but no users, while Black Rabbit and Washington Black tie with 0.9% of users each.

Follow over the jump for the non-music craft categories.

'Obsession,' 'Project Hail Mary,' 'Superman,' and 'The Furious' lead movie winners at the Critics Choice Super Awards

I promised I would blog about the movie winners at the Critics Choice Super Awards, so here are the relevant paragraphs from Winners Announced For The Critics Choice Association’s 6th Annual “Critics Choice Super Awards”.

“OBSESSION,” “PROJECT HAIL MARY,” “SUPERMAN,” AND “THE FURIOUS” TOP FILM WINNERS WITH TWO WINS EACH
...
“Obsession,” “Project Hail Mary,” “Superman,” and “The Furious” led this year’s film winners, earning two wins each. “Obsession” was named Best Horror Movie, with Inde Navarrette honored as Best Actress in a Horror Movie. “Project Hail Mary” took home Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie, with its star Ryan Gosling winning Best Actor in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie. “Superman” was named Best Superhero Movie, and David Corenswet won Best Actor in a Superhero Movie. In the Action categories, “The Furious” won Best Action Movie, and Xie Miao received Best Actor in an Action Movie.

The Critics Choice Super Awards is also presenting a special honor recognizing a certain outstanding performance in a horror film. This year, Indy, the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever and four-legged star of IFC’s thriller “Good Boy,” will receive the Best Good Boy in a Horror Movie award for his scene-stealing performance.

I blew both of Obsession's awards in 'Obsession' vs. 'Weapons' for Best Horror Movie at the Critics Choice Super Awards.

Although I voted for Weapons, I think Obsession is more likely to win Best Wide-Release Movie at the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards. On the other hand, I think Weapons is more likely to win this category here. Once again, welcome to the critics vs. the fans.
...
Out of this field, I would vote for Amy Madigan, Weapons, as did one of the members of PVD Horror. The other voted for Inde Navarrette. Given that it's the critics, I think Madigan has the advantage.

I read the room wrong; Obsession and Inde Navarette beat Weapons and Amy Madigan. That written, I'm neither surprised nor disappointed. Besides, I did call Madigan winning Best Villain in a Movie. I also anticipated the winner of Best Actor in a Horror Movie, writing "I think it's between Ejiofor and Fiennes with Adam Scott in Hokum as a spoiler." Fiennes won. Given the strong nominees from 2026, I expect horror will have another good year at the next Oscars.


On the other hand, I called the winners in 'Project Hail Mary' leads Science Fiction/Fantasy nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards.

I'm picking Project Hail Mary, and not just because it has the most nominations. My wife and I paid money to stream it, which we almost never do, and thought it was worth every penny. That the Astra Awards crowned it the best movie of the first half of the year just cements my choice.
...
I think this category will go to Ryan Gosling, earning Project Hail Mary its second trophy here.
...
Oona Chaplin earned one of her two nominations for Avatar: Fire and Ash in this category, but I think she'll walk away empty-handed. Instead, it's between Emma Stone and Emily Blunt, whose performance in Disclosure Day was probably the best part of the film.

I expect both Blunt and Gosling to earn lots of nominations for their performances.


I did O.K. predicting the winners in 'Superman' leads film nominees at the 2026 Critics Choice Super Awards, but not perfect.

I expect Superman will win this one. ... 

I'm rooting for David Corenswet as Superman/Clark Kent...

Milly Alcock and to a lesser extent Vanessa Kirby are the only title characters nominated, which might count for something. That written, I'm rooting for two Emmy winners, Rachel Brosnahan and Julia Garner.

Being a title character did count for something as Millie Alcock won, her first award for a single role. May this award help protect Alcock from a Razzie nomination. Supergirl itself may not be so lucky avoiding a Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel nomination.


I also called two out of three in Drink to the action movie nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards on National Daiquiri Day.

The Furious leads with three nominations; the rest of the field is tied at two apiece. I'll go with The Furious based on its three nominations here and its Astra Midseason Movie Award for Best Stunts...

Miao Xie may be in the best movie, but he's splitting The Furious vote with Joe Taslim and they're both up against stiff competition. Matt Damon is an Oscar winner, albeit for his writing, and the biggest star, Taron Edgerton is an Emmy and Golden Globe nominee and an underrated actor, and Bob Odenkirk is a two-time Emmy winner for his writing and a Critics Choice Award winner for his acting. I'd bet on Damon.

Miao Xie's performance overcame star power, which I didn't expect.

Charlize Theron is my choice to win this award based on her Oscar and Critics Choice Award wins; in fact, she won this category for Mad Max: Fury Road when it was part of the main Critics Choice Awards ten years ago.

As I expected, Theron won. Congratulations to her and all the rest of the winners!

That's a wrap for today and this year's Critics Choice Super Awards. Stay tuned for more awards coverage in tomorrow's Sunday entertainment feature.

Previous posts about the 2026 Critics Choice Super Awards

• 'Superman' leads film nominees at the 2026 Critics Choice Super Awards
• 'Obsession' vs. 'Weapons' for Best Horror Movie at the Critics Choice Super Awards
• 'Project Hail Mary' leads Science Fiction/Fantasy nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards
• Drink to the action movie nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards on National Daiquiri Day
• 'The Boys' leads TV nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards
• 'House of the Dragon' vs. 'Paradise' for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy TV nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards
• 'Dexter: Resurrection' and 'Widow's Bay' lead horror TV nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards
• Action TV nominees at the 2026 Critics Choice Super Awards
• 'The Boys' and 'Widow's Bay' lead TV winners at the Critics Choice Super Awards

'Dexter: Resurrection' and 'Widow's Bay' lead horror TV nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards

As I promised yesterday, I'm continuing my series on the Critics Choice Super Awards with the horror nominees. Here they are from the press release.

BEST HORROR SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE

The Beauty
The Boroughs
Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy
Dexter: Resurrection
Ghosts
IT: Welcome to Derry
Wednesday
Widow’s Bay

Dexter: Resurrection and Widow's Bay lead this field with three nominations each, The Boroughs, Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy, IT: Welcome to Derry, and Wednesday follow tied at two, and The Beauty and Ghosts each have just this one. On that basis alone, Dexter: Resurrection and Widow's Bay are the favorites, which I'm resolving in favor of Widow's Bay, which I voted for in the 2026 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards. It also has 19 nominations at the Emmy Awards while Wednesday has six, It: Welcome to Derry two, and the rest none. The critics are not the Hollywood creatives, but both still embody elite entertainment opinion, so they are likely to agree on Widow's Bay. As I usually write about awards shows but haven't written before in this series, electorates matter.

Follow over the jump for the acting categories.

Drink to the action movie nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards on National Daiquiri Day

As I wrote yesterday, "Stay tuned for the action movie nominees on National Daiquiri Day as the Sunday entertainment feature." Here are the nominees.

Best Action Movie

The Furious
Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice
Motor City
The Naked Gun
Normal
The Rip
Sisu: Road to Revenge

The Furious leads with three nominations; the rest of the field is tied at two apiece. I'll go with The Furious based on its three nominations here and its Astra Midseason Movie Award for Best Stunts, although The Rip has an Emmy nomination and Sisu: Road to Revenge won a Saturn Award.

Follow over the jump for the acting nominations and my analysis of what these nominations might mean for the Saturn Awards.

'The Tale of Silyan' vs 'The Librarians' for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking at the Emmy Awards

As I promised yesterday, I'm beginning my examination of this year's Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards nominees today. Unlike past years, I'm not starting with the nominees for Outstanding Commercial. Don't worry, I'll get to the category. Instead, I'm kicking off the series by examining the nominees for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking, of which there are only two, The Librarians (PBS) and The Tale of Silyan (Nat Geo). Watch their trailers, beginning with THE LIBRARIANS | Official Trailer.

America’s war on books is more than a war on words. THE LIBRARIANS, a new feature documentary from Academy Award® nominee and Peabody Award winner Kim A. Snyder.

In Texas, the Krause List targets 850 books focused on race and LGBTQIA+ stories – triggering sweeping book bans across the U.S. at an unprecedented rate. As tensions escalate, librarians connect the dots from heated school and library board meetings nationwide to lay bare the underpinnings of extremism fueling the censorship efforts. Despite facing harassment, threats, and laws aimed at criminalizing their work – the librarians’ rallying cry for freedom to read is a chilling cautionary tale.

That's powerful and an example of why I pay attention to awards shows; they bring films and shows to my attention that are worth watching for the subject matter.

Next, The Tale of Silyan | Official Trailer | National Geographic Documentary Films.

A down-on-his luck farmer develops a unique bond with a wounded white stork as he nurses the bird back to health.

This is a film I can recommend to my environmental science students, as it's about both wildlife and farming, two topics in that class. Welcome to blogging as professional development.

Between the two, I think The Tale of Silyan is the favorite. First, it has a second Emmy nomination for Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program, which I'll examine over the jump, while The Librarians has only one. Second, it earned a nomination for Best Documentary at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards in addition to Best Cinematography. The Librarians also earned a nomination at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards for Best Political Documentary, but not Best Documentary. Third, The Tale of Silyan earned nominations at the Film Independent Spirit Awards and PGA Awards and wins at the Cinema Eye Honors Awards and Golden Trailer Awards. Yes, the trailer I embedded is a winner in its own right for Best Documentary Subject. Meanwhile, The Librarians earned nominations at the Satellite Awards and Cinema Eye Honors Awards. When the two films earned nominations at the same awards shows, The Tale of Silyan won awards and more and better nominations. Gold Derby hasn't created a predictions page for the Creative Arts Emmy Awards yet, but I don't have to wait until they do; I can tell which nominee is more likely to win, especially since this is a juried award. The experts will prefer the craft and storytelling of The Tale of Silyan over the subject matter of The Librarians.

Follow over the jump for The Tale of Silyan's other nomination.

A great year for horror at the Oscars on Friday the 13th

It's Friday the 13th and I'm observing it the same way I did last month, examining horror nominees at an awards show. Then, it was the Saturn Awards. Today, it's the Academy Awards. I begin with Sinister Cinema Reviews asking What is Going On With The Oscars??!! A BIG Year for Horror!

Horror is actually getting recognition at the Oscars for the second year in a row??! What is happening?? This is great for the genre.

I agree with Jason on most of his points except for Bugonia being horror film; I consider it to be science fiction so much that it headlined Science fiction movie nominees at the Critics Choice Awards for Science Fiction Day. The Saturn Awards agreed, nominating it for Best Science Fiction Film. Still, Jason has enough company that Empire Magazine tweeted the following image.


Including Bugonia got pushback in the replies; several users questioned its inclusion or flatly stated that it's not horror. I'm agree; it's science fiction that appeals to horror fans, but it's not horror.

Speaking of Empire Magazine, it published The Oscars Have Finally Embraced Horror – And It’s Worth Screaming About. Follow over the jump for excerpts from it and my reactions.

'Plur1bus' vs. 'Alien: Earth' and 'Star Wars: Skeleton Crew' for Best New Genre Series at the Saturn Awards

I told my readers, "I have one or two more posts planned for the Saturn Awards nominees before the awards on Sunday night, so stay tuned." Without any further ado, here are the nominees for Best New Genre Series.

Best New Genre Series:

Alien: Earth
Outlander: Blood of My Blood
Pluribus
Robin Hood
Spartacus: House of Ashur
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew

Pluribus leads this category with four nominations, followed by Alien: Earth and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew tied at three each, then Outlander: Blood of My Blood, Robin Hood, and Spartacus: House of Ashur with just this one. The professional choices are Pluribus and Alien: Earth, both of which earned Critics Choice Award nominations and the former also a Golden Globe nomination along with awards for Rhea Seehorn for her acting. I voted for Pluribus, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Alien: Earth wins instead. I also wouldn't be surprised if Star Wars: Skeleton Crew or Outlander: Blood of My Blood upsets both of the professional picks. Both of the latter have dedicated fandoms and the former was a really fun adaptation of Treasure Island combined with Goonies/Stranger Things that worked in a Star Wars setting. As I last wrote in Animation and International Film nominees at the Saturn Awards, "the Saturn Awards are about entertainment not art, they don't care for subtle, and they love to stick it to the experts." Also, electorates matter.

Follow over the jump for the remaining television nominees plus all of my votes and some predictions.

'Dexter: Resurrection' leads television nominees at the Saturn Awards

I promised coverage of the television nominees at the Saturn Awards as this week's Sunday entertainment feature, but technology didn't cooperate twice, then the router arrived today and my wife set it up while I was at work — thanks! — so I'm uploading it today.

I begin by returning to Deadline Hollywood, which reported "Among the TV nominees, Showtime/Paramount+’s Dexter: Resurrection led the way with six nominations, followed by Andor, It: Welcome to Derry and Stranger Things with five apiece." This list, which passed my accuracy check, sets my agenda for the first four posts examining the television nominees, so I begin with Dexter: Resurrection and the shows nominated against it.

Best Thriller Television Series:

Dark Winds
Dexter: Resurrection
The Lowdown
MobLand
The Rainmaker
Your Friends and Neighbors

As Deadline Hollywood reported, Dexter: Resurrection leads both all television nominees and the nominees in this category with six nominations, while the rest of the nominees in this field have only this one nomination, so it's the favorite. It helps that at least two accounts on Twitter are mounting an awards campaign for Dexter: Resurrection. I didn't vote for it. Instead, I voted for Dark Winds, which my wife and I are fans of. I won't be disappointed if it loses to Dexter: Resurrection. In fact, I expect it.

I won't complain about the quality of the field, but I'm making a note to myself to submit my own list of thriller and mystery TV series next December. If I had done so last year, it wouldn't have changed my vote or the likely winner, but I might at least know who the other nominees are.

Follow over the jump for the actors from Dexter: Resurrection nominated at the Saturn Awards.

Animation and International Film nominees at the Saturn Awards

As I promised twice, I'm completing my coverage of the movie nominees at the Saturn Awards before moving on to television. I'm shuffling the order of categories a bit to feature Best Animated Film first.

Best Animated Film:

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
The Bad Guys 2
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
The SpongeBob Movie: Search For Squarepants
Zootopia 2

The professionals' choice is KPop Demon Hunters, which won Best Animated Feature at the Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globes plus a GRAMMY for "Golden" and leads the Gold Derby odds to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. I voted for it. That doesn't mean it will win here. As I last wrote in 'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning' leads Best Action/Adventure Film at the Saturn Awards, "the Saturn Awards are about entertainment not art, they don't care for subtle, and they love to stick it to the experts." It's the last criterion that I think might sway the vote to Zootopia 2. I predicted that Finding Dory would beat Zootopia in 2017 (it did) and something similar could happen here. That the Saturn Awards Instagram account made an image for Zootopia 2, reproduced above, but not for Kpop Demon Hunters. Things that make me say hmm.

The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films instituted a new award this year, Best International Animated Film, and here are its nominees.

Best International Animated Film (New Category)

Attack on Titan the Movie: The Last Attack
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc
The Colors Within
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle
Ne Zha 2
Stitch Head

This is a category where I didn't pay attention to expert/professional opinion. I voted for Ne Zha 2 because it was the highest grossing movie in the world released during 2025. On the other hand, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle had a much higher gross in North America and earned a Golden Globe nomination. On those bases, I think it's more likely to win, although Attack on Titan the Movie: The Last Attack has the highest IMDB rating of all the nominees in this category. I would neither be upset nor surprised if either of the latter win.

The next logical category and the last one today is Best International Film.

Best International Film:

40 Acres
Bring Her Back
Dead of Winter
Night Call
The Ugly Stepsister
Sisu 2: Road to Revenge

I voted for Bring Her Back because it was the one I'd heard the most about and it has the highest IMDB rating of all the nominees in this category. That doesn't mean it will will win. The original Sisu won two years ago and I wouldn't be surprised if its sequel wins this year.

That's a wrap for today's installment. Stay tuned for the television nominations next, either tomorrow or Sunday.

Previous posts about the 53rd Saturn Awards

• 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' leads Best Science Fiction Film nominees at the Saturn Awards
• 'Sinners' leads Best Thriller Film nominees at the Saturn Awards
• 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' vs. 'Superman' for Best Cinematic Adaptation Film at the Saturn Awards
• 'Wicked: For Good' leads Best Fantasy Film at the Saturn Awards
• 'Frankenstein' leads Best Horror Film at the Saturn Awards for Friday the 13th
• 'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning' leads Best Action/Adventure Film at the Saturn Awards
• 'Dust Bunny' leads Best Independent Film at the Saturn Awards

'Dust Bunny' leads Best Independent Film at the Saturn Awards

I wrote "I plan on resuming the series Wednesday with the nominees for Best Independent Film" near the end of 'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning' leads Best Action/Adventure Film at the Saturn Awards, so I'm following through today with the nominees in this category.

Best Independent Film:

Adulthood
Eden
Dust Bunny
Good Boy
The Rule of Jenny Pen
The Plague
The Toxic Avenger

As the preview image shows, Dust Bunny leads with five nominations, while the rest of the field have just this one. On that basis, it's the favorite and I voted for it. As a "professional's choice," it's acceptable, as it had two nominations at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, including for Best First Feature. However, if I hadn't counted its total nominations at the Saturn Awards, I might have voted for The Plague, which earned three nominations at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, one of which resulted a win for Kayo Martin as Best Breakthrough Performance. It also earned a nomination at the Critics Choice Awards for Everett Blunck as Best Young Actor/Actress. That might have been a better "professional" choice, but it doesn't have the weird factor most of the other nominees, including Dust Bunny, have, which would make them more attractive to a group of genre film fans. For what it's worth, Good Boy also earned a nomination at the Film Independent Spirit Awards. It has the weird factor and a dog for a protagonist. Good boy, indeed — woof!

I close with DUST BUNNY | Official Trailer from Roadside Flix.

In visionary creator Bryan Fuller’s (“Hannibal,” “Pushing Daisies”) fantastical and wickedly inventive feature directorial debut Dust Bunny, a 10-year-old girl joins forces with her hit man neighbor to confront each other’s monsters.
Ten-year-old Aurora has a mysterious neighbor (Mads Mikkelsen) who kills real-life monsters. He’s a hit man for hire. So, when Aurora needs help killing the monster she believes ate her entire family, she procures his services. Suspecting that her parents may have fallen victim to assassins gunning for him, Aurora’s neighbor guiltily takes the job. Now, to protect her, he’ll need to battle an onslaught of assassins - and accept that some monsters are real.

My wife and I viewed this trailer and put Dust Bunny on our watch list.

I have one more post planned for the movie nominees before moving on to television. That's scheduled for Friday. In the meantime, stay tuned for another short evergreen educational entry tomorrow.

Previous posts about the 53rd Saturn Awards

• 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' leads Best Science Fiction Film nominees at the Saturn Awards
• 'Sinners' leads Best Thriller Film nominees at the Saturn Awards
• 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' vs. 'Superman' for Best Cinematic Adaptation Film at the Saturn Awards
• 'Wicked: For Good' leads Best Fantasy Film at the Saturn Awards
• 'Frankenstein' leads Best Horror Film at the Saturn Awards for Friday the 13th
• 'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning' leads Best Action/Adventure Film at the Saturn Awards

'All the Empty Rooms' leads Gold Derby odds for short documentary at the Oscars

I examined the nominees for Documentary Feature at the Oscars to begin my Academy Awards coverage. I'm taking advantage of a snow day to resume it with the nominees for Best Short Documentary, beginning with both the first alphabetically and the leader in the Gold Derby odds, All The Empty Rooms | Official Trailer | Netflix.

In this moving short documentary, a journalist and a photographer set out to memorialize the bedrooms left behind by children killed in school shootings.

This is an expanded version of The Lost Class, a PSA about gun violence nominated for Outstanding Commercial at the 2022 Emmy Awards, showing all the empty chairs of students lost to gun violence who would have graduated from high school had they lived. That worked because of the sheer numbers, 3,044, but it wasn't about the individual victims; fellow Emmy nominee Teenage Dream did that for the survivors. All the Empty Rooms personalizes the issue for those who never came home.

Next alphabetically and by Gold Derby odds, Armed Only With A Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud | Official Trailer | HBO.

“The way you hold that camera, you’re doing it from your heart.”

Armed Only With A Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud is a powerful tribute to a war photojournalist who risked everything on the front lines.

That's moving and gripping. I can see why it's second in the odds.

Children No More "Were and are Gone" Trailer from Medalia Productions is third in the odds.


Since the video has no description, I'm sharing the one from IMDB: "Israeli peace activists hold silent vigils in Tel Aviv, displaying photos of Gaza's young victims. Despite facing public backlash, their wordless demonstrations powerfully highlight war's human cost." This is another side of 'We Will Dance Again' leads Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary nominees at the News & Doc Emmy Awards. That was about the Israeli victims of the October 7th attack on the Nova Music Festival. It won the Emmy for Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary, something I didn't acknowledge until now. Being interrupted by a hostile commenter trolling the entry will do that. This is about some Israelis' reaction to their government's response.

Now a second nominee, The Devil Is Busy | Official Trailer, from HBO.

"Before I send them in, I look in their eyes. I say to them, 'you’re safe now.'"

#TheDevilsBusy offers an intimate look inside a women’s healthcare clinic in Atlanta, where Tracii leads security to ensure safety and care amid protests and restrictions.

Welcome to post-Roe America, which is looking more like pre-Roe America.

I conclude the trailers with Perfectly A Strangeness - Trailer | 2026 Oscar® Nominated Documentary Short Film from Premium Films.

'Perfectly A Strangeness' by Alison McAlpine official trailer, 2026 Oscar® Nominated in the best Documentary Short Film category.

Synopsis: In the dazzling incandescence of an unknown desert, three donkeys discover an abandoned astronomical observatory and the universe. A sensorial, cinematic exploration of what a story can be.

This has the most science content of any of the nominees except for possibly The Devil Is Busy, which has some health content amongst the social commentary. Just the same, I doubt I'll recommend it to my students. Sometimes, blogging as professional development doesn't yield positive results.

As I wrote above, the nominees are in the same order in the Gold Derby odds as they are in the alphabet. What are the odds of that happening? All the Empty Rooms has the first place votes of 70.0% of experts, 66.7% of editors, and 81.0% of users. Armed Only With A Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud sits in second among all three groups as the choice of 20.0% of experts, 33.3% of editors, and 12.7% of users. No experts picked either Children No More: Were and Are Gone or The Devil Is Busy, the selections of 2.6% and 2.0% of users, respectively. Instead, the remaining expert is currently voting for Perfectly a Strangeness along with 1.7% of users. The film school students might like this last one, but everyone in the Motion Picture Academy votes for the winner, and I think they'll vote for one of the top two choices. Remember, electorates matter.

Again, that's a wrap for today's awards show coverage. Stay tuned for two brief entries worth sharing next month sandwiching this year's unveiling of the Doomsday Clock on Wednesday.

Previous posts about the 2026 Oscars

• 'The Perfect Neighbor' leads Gold Derby odds for Documentary Feature at the Oscars
• 'One Battle After Another' and 'Sinners' lead screenplay categories at the Oscars according to Gold Derby

'One Battle After Another' and 'Sinners' lead screenplay categories at the Oscars according to Gold Derby

I promised more awards show coverage for today's Sunday entertainment feature and I'm following through with the screenplay nominees and their odds of winning, beginning with Best Adapted Screenplay.

Just like it did at the Critics Choice Awards, One Battle After Another leads Best Adapted Screenplay as the choice of 81.8% of experts, 66.7% of editors, and 90.3% of users. Hamnet sits in second as the selection of the remaining 18.2% of experts and 33.3% of editors plus 6.9% of users. Frankenstein follows far behind with 1.1% of users, then Train Dreams with 1.0% user support, and Bugonia last with 0.7% of users. This looks a lot like the odds for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Critics Choice Awards.

One Battle After Another still leads as the choice of every editor, 81.3% of experts, and 90.9% of users. The experts and users are moving in opposite directions. The remaining experts are now split between Hamnet and Train Dreams with 12.5% and 6.3% expert expectations of winning, respectively. Hamnet is now the pick of 6.5% of users, followed by No Other Choice, Frankenstein, Bugonia, and Train Dreams follow with 1.0%, 0.9%, 0.4%, and 0.3% of users supporting each, respectively.

The field is the same except for No Other Choice dropping out because of the field being trimmed from six to five.* Gold Derby thinks the results will be the same, too, with One Battle After Another winning. Since Critics Choice didn't upload the acceptance speech to its YouTube channel, I'm sharing the graphic from its Twitter/X account instead.


Congratulations for this award and the next one, Best Screenplay at the Golden Globes.

Here, the leading nominees for adapted and original screenplays are contending with each other and One Battle After Another is Gold Derby's choice to win over Sinners with the former in first as the choice of 72.7% of experts, 50.0% of editors, and 66.1% of users and the latter in third as the selection of 9.1% of experts, 16.7% of editors, and 9.5% of users. Second place? It Was Just an Accident, picked by 18.2% of experts, 33.3% of editors, and 17.8% of users. It's also the leading nominee for Best Non-English Film over Sentimental Value, which has user support of 3.4% for Best Film Screenplay. Hamnet and Marty Supreme trail as the choices of 2.1% and 1.0% of users.

Watch as Paul Thomas Anderson Wins Best Screenplay – Motion Picture | 83rd Annual Golden Globes.

Paul Thomas Anderson accepts the Best Screenplay – Motion Picture award at the 83rd Annual Golden Globes.

According to Gold Derby, Anderson should prepare to give three speeches on March 15th (Beware the Ides of March!), as he is favored to win Best Director and Best Motion Picture along with the rest of the producers as well as Best Adapted Screenplay. After 14 Oscar nominations, he's on track to finally win three, which Gold Derby thinks will be the majority of the Oscars won by One Battle After Another; the others predicted are Best Supporting Actress for Teyana Taylor and Best Editing.

Follow over the jump for the nominees for Best Original Screenplay and their odds.

Yesterworld Entertainment recounts 'The Troubled History of the Star Wars Holiday Special - Why & How It Failed'

I telegraphed this post in last year's Yesterworld Entertainment recounts 'The Troubled History of The Nightmare Before Christmas'.

Speaking of bad Star Wars ideas, Yesterworld Mark has a video about the Star Wars Holiday Special. I'm saving that for a snowy day. After all, I'm an environmentalist. I don't just recycle, I conserve my resources.

Today is that snowy day. Watch Yesterworld: The Troubled History of the Star Wars Holiday Special - Why & How It Failed.

Exploring the little known History behind the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special, how it came to be and why it's one of the Star Wars Franchises most infamous blunders. The idea by George Lucas began with promise, but ultimately became "so bad it's good" of the Star Wars universe.

I begin my reaction by recycling what I wrote eight years ago.

While the "Star Wars Holiday Special" has been consigned to the equivalent of unperson status for a work of art within the Star Wars universe, it has had three lasting effects. First, it introduced Life Day as the Star Wars version of Christmas -- BTW, a happy early Life Day to my readers! While Wookieepedia does not list it reappearing in any of the movies or TV shows, it was celebrated in the MMOs based on the franchise, Star Wars Galaxies and Star Wars: The Old Republic...

Second, it also introduced the Wookiee homeworld Kashyyyk, which has had a much more durable legacy than Life Day. Its Wookieepedia entry lists 44 appearances and mentions under Canon, including its first portrayal in the movies as a setting of "Revenge of the Sith," and many more under Legends. Even that is not complete, as it was mentioned in an episode of "Once Upon A Time" ...

Finally, as the Vox video points out, it serves as a good example of what not to do in Star Wars, making the rest of both Canon and especially Legends that much better. Think of it as Early Installment Weirdness within what is now Star Wars Legends. In fact, since I've already linked to TV Tropes, its entry for "The Star Wars Holiday Special" mentions it as exactly that and lists this example of Early Installment Weirdness.

Due to being made early in the franchise's history before many ideas and characterizations were set in stone, there's quite a bit. The most striking is Boba Fett acting like a cackling Dastardly Whiplash rather than the stoic Noble Demon he's famous as.

Yes, I've linked to TV Tropes. Enjoy...clicking on links!

I posted a correction of sorts about the original timing of Life Day in Happy First Contact Day, a Star Trek holiday: "Technically, it falls on November 17th and was originally a stand-in for Thanksgiving, but over the years, it has turned into Star Wars Christmas, so many fans celebrate it then." November 17th is also my wife's birthday, which she shares with RuPaul. I have better events to celebrate then than the original date of Life Day!

One of the commenters on Yesterworld Mark's video noted that "Carrie Fisher apparently used to play this at her house every Christmas to make people leave," which IMDB also lists under trivia. After watching the summary of the special, I can see why. It's painful. The writers knew how to write for The Carol Burnett Show, but not for Star Wars, and should have had more respect for George Lucas's original treatment.

That's a wrap for an early Sunday entertainment feature. Stay tuned for Yule/Winter Solstice, when I blog about Christmas Monsters.