Academy Awards Announcements 2015

For Your Consideration: The 10 Pre-Oscar Awards Announcements That Could Change This Race

Prepare for some updates to this year's awards season.

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It's here. While there have been a few nomination announcements already, awards season is about to ramp up in serious fashion. And by "about to, " we mean today. Working as precursors to the grand finale that is the Oscars, we'll be hearing about more awards almost daily between now and the end of January (with a break over Christmas), starting with the National Board of Review this afternoon.

While we're not about to preview all of them (there's go to be at least 100 groups announcing prizes these days), we will give you a heads up on 10 of the most notable Oscar precursors, from the big three critics' awards to the Golden Globes to the guild awards.

National Board of Review

Who are they? The oldest critics' group — they've been around since 1909 — the NBR isn't actually made up of critics alone. The membership is noted as a "select group of film enthusiasts, filmmakers, professionals, academics and student, " which often makes for eclectic winners (for better or worse).
When do they announce? They vote on and announce the winners on December 1st (today!).
What were the big winners last year? The NBR rather boldly went with "A Most Violent Year" for best picture, and gave its stars Oscar Issac (who tied Michael Keaton for best actor) and Jessica Chastain awards as well. While "Year" didn't actually get any Oscar nominations, the other acting winners — Keaton, Julianne Moore and Edward Norton — all did.
What might they go for this time around? The NBR can be pretty wacky in their choices — though that's not always a bad thing. For every Clint Eastwood winning Best Director for "Invictus, " there's an Ann Dowd winning Best Supporting Actress for "Compliance." Which makes them very hard to predict. Like any group this season, "Spotlight, " "Carol" and "Beasts of No Nation" could factor in, as could the just-screened likes of "Joy, " "The Revenant" and "The Hateful Eight." As for acting winners, we'll bet — with very little confidence — that Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Mark Rylance and Kate Winslet will be their quartet. But with NBR, you never know.

New York Film Critics Circle

Who are they? Around since 1935, the NYFCC is made up of New York-based film critics.
When do they announce? They vote on and announce the winners on December 2nd.
What were the big winners last year? The NYFCC kicked off the critics' awards season support for Richard Linklater's "Boyhood, " giving it best film, best director and best supporting actress (to eventual Oscar winner Patricia Arquette). Timothy Spall, Marion Cotillard and J.K. Simmons (who would also win an Oscar) won the other acting awards.
What might they go for this time around? It's hard to imagine "Spotlight" and "Carol" not being major players here, but watch out for "The Revenant, " "Anomalisa, " "45 Years, " "Steve Jobs" and "Joy, " which just screened this week (the group gave David O. Russell's "American Hustle" the top prize two years ago right after it screened). The acting races are tough calls for such an early announcement, but at this point, Michael Fassbender, Brie Larson, Michael Keaton and Rooney Mara (who could win for lead or supporting, depending on where they decide her "Carol" performance belongs) seem like the safest bets.

Los Angeles Film Critics Association

Who are they? Founded in 1975, the LAFCA — made up, as one would guess, of L.A.-based critics — have tended to be a little more highbrow in their choices relative to the NYFCC and NBR. Consider the stretch from 2009-2011 when Yolande Moreau ("Seraphine"), Kim Hye-ja ("Mother") and Yoon Jeong-hee ("Poetry") won Best Actress.
When do they announce? They vote on and announce the winners on December 6th.
What were the big winners last year? "Boyhood" ruled again with four wins for best film, best director, best actress (Arquette moving up to the lead category here) and best editing (Sandra Adair). They also went with J.K. Simmons, but looked outside the box in the other two acting categories — Tom Hardy for "Locke" and Agata Kulesza for "Ida."

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