SPOTLIGHT SHINES ON A NIGHT OF SHOCKS: THE 88TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS

Nobody thought it was possible: win the Best Picture Oscar with only one other win? And at that, the first award of the night? Half way through, it looked like even The Revenant wasn't going to be able to pull off the big win, as its tally was being depleted by an astonishing surge by Mad Max: Fury Road - six wins for George Miller's film! The later awards favoured Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's western, however, and indeed both he and Leonardo DiCaprio won their expected trophies. But the gasps and cheers that greeted Morgan Freeman's announcement of Spotlight as the surprise Best Picture winner - and with only one other award won, Original Screenplay, to The Revenant's three and Mad Max's six - were confirmation: not only was this our Best Picture winner for 2015, it was also our most surprising winner since 2005's Crash, after our most unpredictable race in who knows how long.
     And there were even bigger shocks in other categories: Sylvester Stallone's widely predicted victory in Supporting Actor failed to materialise, as BAFTA champ Mark Rylance won instead. The Visual Effects award went to perhaps the most left-field winner in memory: Ex Machina, only the second time a Best Picture nominee has failed to win that award (when nominated) in history, and a choice utterly no-one had predicted. And Best Original Song went to 'Writing's on the Wall' from Spectre - the night's most reviled decision by a clear distance, and featuring the most mocked (and inaccurate) acceptance speech statement from singer Sam Smith, who claimed to be the first openly gay man to win an Oscar (he's not). Check out the nominations at this link, and grin gleefully over the award winners in full, below:

Best Picture

Spotlight (Blye Pagon Faust, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin and Michael Sugar)

Best Directing

Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant)

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Brie Larson (Room)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

Best Writing – Original Screenplay

Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (Spotlight)

Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay

Adam McKay and Charles Randolph (The Big Short)

Best Cinematography

Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant)

Best Film Editing

Margaret Sixel (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Production Design

Colin Gibson and Lisa Thompson (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Costume Design

Jenny Beavan (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Sound Mixing

Chris Jenkins, Ben Osmo and Gregg Rudloff (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Sound Editing

Mark A. Mangini and David White (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Visual Effects

Mark Ardington, Sara Bennett, Paul Norris and Andrew Whitehurst (Ex Machina)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Damian Martin, Lesley Vanderwalt and Elka Wardega (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Music (Original Score)

Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight)

Best Music (Original Song)

Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith – ‘Writing’s on the Wall’ (Spectre)

Best Animated Feature Film

Inside Out (Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera)

Best Documentary Feature

Amy (James Gay-Rees and Asif Kapadia)

Best Foreign Language Film

Son of Saul – Hungary (Nemes László)

Best Short Film (Live Action)

Stutterer (Serena Armitage and Benjamin Cleary)

Best Short Film (Animated)

Bear Story (Pato Escala and Gabriel Osorio)

Best Documentary Short

A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness (Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy)

REVIEW OF 2015 - BEST SCENE

1. 'Speak Low' (Phoenix)

2. 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes' (45 Years)

3. 'Chase scene over Chicago' (Jupiter Ascending)

4. 'The Final Derriere' (The Forbidden Room)

5. 'Sandstorm' (Mad Max: Fury Road)

6. 'Escape' (Room)

7. 'We're not ugly people' (Carol)

8. 'The dance sequence' (Ex Machina)

9. 'Sex scene as a history of colonialism' (Eisenstein in Guanajuato)

10. 'Nightmare phonecall' (The Nightmare)

REVIEW OF 2015 - BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1. Mad Max: Fury Road

2. The Walk

3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

4. The Revenant

5. Avengers: Age of Ultron

6. Jupiter Ascending

7. Ex Machina

8. Spectre

9. Jurassic World

10. The Martian

ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ INARRITU WINS SECOND CONSECUTIVE DGA AWARD, DOESN'T DESERVE THIS ONE EITHER

You ever hear of the director who won two back-to-back DGA awards? No, you didn't, because it's never happened before. But it happened yesterday, as Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu won the Feature Film category for The Revenant, beating four other nominees who each and all a) had never won before, and b) deserved to win more than he did. Kinda reminds me of last year, when almost exactly the same shit transpired. The winner of the Documentary category was Matthew Heineman for Cartel Land - a much finer choice, imo - and Ex Machina's Alex Garland in the inaugural First Time Director category. The 2015 DGA nominations can be viewed at this link.

2015 INTERNET FILM CRITIC SOCIETY AWARDS

You likely haven't heard of the Internet Film Critic Society, but then they likely haven't heard of you either, so it's cool. They've chosen Spotlight as their Best Drama of 2015, which looks kinda like a Best Picture prize, until you see all the other awards which also look like Best Picture prizes. These aren't exactly the most radical choices from IFCS. Check them out:

Best Director

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Actor

Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)

Best Actress

Brie Larson (Room)

Best Action Film

Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Comedy

The Big Short

Best Drama

Spotlight

Best Experimental Film

Anomalisa

Best Horror or Science Fiction

Ex Machina

Most Underrated Film

Chi-Raq

Worst Film

The Human Centipede III (Final Sequence)

SAN ANDREAS SURPRISES IN VISUAL EFFECTS SOCIETY NOMINATIONS

I'm all for surprises, but this is a particularly questionable one: Avengers: Age of Ultron and Jurassic World make way for underdog San Andreas in the Visual Effects Society's top nominations category. The VES has 12 categories to cover the best effects work of the year, including animated features, so there's a wide range of titles up for awards, including both Avengers and Jurassic World, though not a mention of Oscar shortlisted Ex Machina. Award winners will be revealed on the 2nd of February. Have a look:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

Chris Corbould, Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, Luke O’Byrne and Patrick Tubach (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

Brian Cox, Bryan Grill, Nordin Rahhali, Randall Starr and Colin Strause (San Andreas)

Barrie Hemsley, Chris Lawrence, Matt Sloan, Richard Stammers and Steven Warner (The Martian)

Martin Hill, Kevin McIlwain, Karen Murphy, Daniel Sudick and Mike Wassel (Furious 7)

Andrew Jackson, Dan Oliver, Holly Radcliffe, Andy Williams and Tom Wood (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

Ivy Agregan, Nicolas Chevallier, Richard McBride, Jason Smith and Cameron Waldbauer (The Revenant)

Kevin Baillie, Camille Cellucci, Sébastien Moreau and Viktor Muller (The Walk)

Matthias Bjarnason, Dadi Einarsson, Roma O’Connor, Glen Pratt and Richard van den Berghe (Everest)

Bryan Hirota, Mark Holt, Jody Johnson, Leslie Lerman and Sean Stranks (In the Heart of the Sea)

Sven Martin, Jennifer Meislohn, Gerd Nefzer, Charlie Noble and Sean Stranks (Bridge of Spies)

Outstanding Models in a Photoreal or Animated Project

Pétur Arnórsson, Matthias Bjarnason, Olfaur Haraldsson and Kjartan Hardarson – ‘Mt. Everest’ (Everest)

Myriam Catrin, Daniel Gonzalez, Robert Marinic and Howie Weed – ‘Hulkbuster’ (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

Matthew Denton, Landis Fields, Cyrus Jam and Joshua Lee – ‘BB-8’ (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

Aaron Grey, Steve Jubinville, Martin Murphy and Kevin Reuter – ‘Indominus Rex’ (Jurassic World)

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Photoreal Project

Christopher Anciaume, Vincent Aupetit, Margaux Durand-Rival and Robert Elswit – ‘Underwater Torus chamber’ (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation)

Rebecca Baehler, James Baker, Alex Kahn and Thomas Luff – ‘Macro Action’ (Ant-Man)

Colin Benoit, Paul Kavanagh, Greg Salter and Yukuhiro Susumu – ‘Falcon chase / graveyard’ (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

Suzanne Cipolletti, Shawn Hull, Laurent Taillefer and Dariusz Wolski – ‘Towers walk’ (The Walk)

Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Feature

Lindsay Adams, Chris Davies, Phil Outen and Matthew Wynne (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Sandro Blattner, Nicholas Kim, Mario Rokicki and Hamish Schumacher – ‘Los Angeles destruction’ (San Andreas)

Jay Cooper, Jean Lapointe, Marian Mavrovic and Alex Prichard (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

Peter Demarest, Conny Fauser, François Lambert and Jean Lapointe (Tomorrowland)

T. C. Harrison, Charles Lai, Donny Rausch and Alan Travis – ‘Bear attack’ (The Revenant)

Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature

Michael Billette, Martyn Culpitt, Shimizu Yuta and Joao Sita – ‘Jungle chase’ (Jurassic World)

Yannick Dusseault, Quentin Marmier, Justin van der Lek and Mike Wood – ‘Falcon chase / graveyard’ (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

Brian Flora, Jim Gibbs, Pavel Kolar and Laurent Taillefer – ‘World Trade Center’ (The Walk)

Alexis Hall, Heath Kraynak, Taylor Shaw and Florian Witzel – ‘The Microverse’ (Ant-Man)

Greg Kegel, Thang Le, Quentin Marmier and Barry Williams – ‘Tomorrowland centre’ (Tomorrowland)

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature

Hemagiri Arumugam, Michael Hall, Stephen Marshall and Magnus Wrenninge (The Good Dinosaur)

Amit Baadkar, Dave Hale, Paul Mendoza and Vincent Serritella (Inside Out)

Chris Chapman, Ilan Gabai, Alen Lai and Douglas Seiden (The Peanuts Movie)

Chris de St. Jeor, Greg Gladstone, Michael Losure and Alex Timchenko (Home)

Outstanding Animated Performance in a Photoreal Feature

Joel Bodin, Ian Comley, Stephen Cullingford and Arslan Elver – ‘Maz’ (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

Robert Bourgeault, Earl Fast, Chris Harvey and Mark Wendell – ‘Chappie’ (Chappie)

Sean Comer, Lana Lan, Jakub Pistecky and John Walker – ‘Hulk’ (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

Karin Cooper, Leandro Estebecorena, Gaelle Morand and Matt Shumway – ‘The bear’ (The Revenant)

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature

Sanjay Bakshi, Denise Ream, Jon Reisch and Michael Venturini (The Good Dinosaur)

Nick Bruno, Scott Carroll, Steve Martino and Michael J. Travers (The Peanuts Movie)

Michael Fong, Paul Mendoza, Victor Navone and Jonas Rivera (Inside Out)

Alan Hawkins, Karl Herbst, Skye Lyons and Genndy Tarkatovsky (Hotel Transylvania 2)

John Joyce, Joe Passarelli, Derek Smith and Rosa Tran (Anomalisa)

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature

Amy L. Allen, Eric Andraos, Steve Karski and José Luis Ramos – ‘Imagination land’ (Inside Out)

Andy Brown, Charles Copping, Alfred Llupiá and Matt Perry – ‘Under the arches’ (Shaun the Sheep Movie)

Angel Camacho-Torres, Cleveland Hibbert, Ken Lee and Jon Townley – ‘Charlie Brown’s neighbourhood’ (The Peanuts Movie)

Matt Kuruc, Tom Miller, David Munier and Matthew Webb – ‘The farm’ (The Good Dinosaur)

Outstanding Simulations in a Photoreal Feature

Florent Andorra, Michael Balog, Georg Kaltenbrunner and Jim van Allen – ‘Hulk vs. Hulkbuster’ (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

Dan Bethell, Clinton Downs and Chris Young – ‘Toxic Storm’ (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Dan Bornstein, John Doublestein, Rick Hankins and Gary Wu – ‘Starkiller base’ (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

Yves d’Incau, Marcel Kern, Lukas Lepicovsky and Joe Scarr – ‘Hoover Dam / San Francisco tsunami’ (San Andreas)

Niall Flinn, Victor Grant, Marc Horsfield and Remy Torre – ‘Los Angeles destruction’ (San Andreas)

Outstanding Animated Performance in an Animated Feature

Alexis Angelidis, Tanja Krampfert, Shawn Krause and Jacob Merrell – ‘Joy’ (Inside Out)

Joseph Antonuccio, Ignacio Barrios, Sabine Heller and Jeff Gabor – ‘Snoopy’ (The Peanuts Movie)

Jacob Brooks, Lou Hamou-Lhadj, Mark C. Harris and Ana Gabriela Lacaze – ‘Spot’ (The Good Dinosaur)

Matthew Doble, Stephen Gressak, Nikki Tomiano and Steve Vanseth – ‘Charlie Brown’ (The Peanuts Movie)

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project

Vincent Desgrippes, Jessie Hereng, Guillaume Menard and Tangi Vaillant (Korser)

Francesco Faranna and Andreas Feix (Citipati)

Fabian Fricke, Yafes Sahin, Vincent Ullmann and Julian Weiss (Jagon)

Marco Hakenjos, Manuel Seifert, Timm Wagener and Christian Zehetmeier (Skål)

TWO NOMINATIONS FOR SANDY POWELL AT COSTUME DESIGNERS GUILD AWARDS

...and most worthy of them is she! Both Carol and Cinderella see Sandy Powell in competition for Costume Designers Guild awards this season. It's a packed year for quality design, with memorable work on films like Brooklyn, Crimson Peak, The Danish Girl, Ex Machina and Joy making the cut. Fittingly, Cate Blanchett, who stars in both of Ms. Powell's nominated titles, will receive this year's Spotlight Award. Winners will be announced on the 23rd of February. See all the film nominees right here:

Excellence in Period Film

Paco Delgado (The Danish Girl)

Odile Dicks-Mireaux (Brooklyn)

Kate Hawley (Crimson Peak)

Daniel Orlandi (Trumbo)

Sandy Powell (Carol)

Excellence in Fantasy Film

Jenny Beavan (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Michael Kaplan (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

Bart Mueller and Kurt Swanson (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2)

Sandy Powell (Cinderella)

Sammy Sheldon (Ex Machina)

Excellence in Contemporary Film

Jenny Eagan (Beasts of No Nation)

Arianne Phillips (Kingsman: The Secret Service)

Carlo Poggioli (Youth)

Michael Wilkinson (Joy)

Janty Yates (The Martian)

CAROL MISSES BEST FILM NOM FROM CENTRAL OHIO CRITICS

Welcome back to awards season 2015-16, where it's business as usual with critics groups, at least those outside of major cities. Despite featuring ten films on their Best Film list, the Central Ohio Film Critics Association has failed to find a slot for Carol. And yet they seem fairly keen on the film in other categories (save Adapted Screenplay, alas...). No idea when they reveal their award winners. Have a look:

Best Film

The Big Short

Ex Machina

Inside Out

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Sicario

Spotlight

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Director

Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant)

Todd Haynes (Carol)

Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Ridley Scott (The Martian)

Denis Villeneuve (Sicario)

Best Actor

Matt Damon (The Martian)

Johnny Depp (Black Mass)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)

Jacob Tremblay (Room)

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Brie Larson (Room)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

Best Supporting Actor

Benicio del Toro (Sicario)

Tom Hardy (The Revenant)

Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina)

Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)

Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)

Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)

Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

Best Original Screenplay

Josh Cooley, Pete Docter and Meg LeFauve (Inside Out)

Alex Garland (Ex Machina)

Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (Spotlight)

Taylor Sheridan (Sicario)

Quentin Tarantino (The Hateful Eight)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Emma Donoghue (Room)

Drew Goddard (The Martian)

Nick Hornby (Brooklyn)

Adam McKay and Charles Randolph (The Big Short)

Aaron Sorkin (Steve Jobs)

Best Cinematography

Roger Deakins (Sicario)

Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant)

Robert Richardson (The Hateful Eight)

John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Dariusz Wolski (The Martian)

Best Film Editing

Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

Tom McArdle (Spotlight)

Stephen Mirrione (The Revenant)

Margaret Sixel (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Joe Walker (Sicario)

Best Score

Carter Burwell (Carol)

Michael Giacchino (Inside Out)

Tom Holkenborg (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Jóhann Jóhannsson (Sicario)

Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight)

Best Ensemble

The Big Short

Ex Machina

The Hateful Eight

Spotlight

Steve Jobs

Best Animated Film

Anomalisa

The Good Dinosaur

Inside Out

The Peanuts Movie

Shaun the Sheep Movie

Best Documentary

Amy

Best of Enemies

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

The Look of Silence

The Wolfpack

Best Foreign Language Film

The Assassin

Goodnight Mommy

Phoenix

Timbuktu

The Tribe

Wild Tales

Best Overlooked Film

The End of the Tour

The Gift

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Mistress America

Slow West

The Tribe

Best Breakthrough Film Artist

Sean Baker (Tangerine)

Joel Edgerton (The Gift)

David Robert Mitchell (It Follows)

Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

Jacob Tremblay (Room)

Alicia Vikander (Burnt / The Danish Girl / Ex Machina / The Man from U.N.C.L.E. / Seventh Son / Testament of Youth)

Actor of the Year (for an exemplary body of work)

Cate Blanchett (Carol / Cinderella / Truth)

Michael Fassbender (Macbeth / Slow West / Steve Jobs)

Domhnall Gleeson (Brooklyn / Ex Machina / The Revenant / Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

Tom Hardy (Child 44 / Legend / Mad Max: Fury Road / The Revenant)

Alicia Vikander (Burnt / The Danish Girl / Ex Machina / The Man from U.N.C.L.E. / Seventh Son / Testament of Youth)

OSCAR VISUAL EFFECTS CATEGORY: THE TOP TEN ANNOUNCED

The final branch of the Academy to whittle down its contenders for next month's nominations, among those branches that do so, is the visual effects crowd. They've declared their top ten achievements in effects work for the year, each of which will participate in a bake-off for votes before the final five is announced. Nominations will be declared on the 14th of January. Have a look:

Ant-Man
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Ex Machina
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Tomorrowland
The Walk

PHOENIX FUCKS IT UP WITH THEIR 2015 FILM CRITICS SOCIETY NOMINATIONS

And here comes the Phoenix Film Critics Society to really brighten up your Christmas! Among the many odious details in their award nominations for the year: Carol secures one nomination, the same number as The Visit; The Danish Girl is declared a better film than Carol; not a single POC is nominated for an acting award, The Martian makes the top three for cinematography (over Carol and The Assassin); 'Writing's on the Wall' from Spectre is named one of the best three film songs of the year; The Look of Silence isn't even nominated for Best Documentary; The Walk is nominated for its ensemble, indicating that perhaps these voters didn't even see The Walk; fs will people stop claiming Alicia Vikander broke through with Ex Machina? Have they literally not even gotten out of bed for the last four years? Winners will be announced on the 22nd of December. The disaster in full below:

Best Picture

The Big Short

Bridge of Spies

Brooklyn

The Danish Girl

Inside Out

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

Best Director

Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant)

Adam McKay (The Big Short)

Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Ridley Scott (The Martian)

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)

Matt Damon (The Martian)

Johnny Depp (Black Mass)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Brie Larson (Room)

Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Paul Dano (Love & Mercy)

Tom Hardy (The Revenant)

Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)

Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)

Michael Shannon (99 Homes)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)

Helen Mirren (Trumbo)

Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

Julie Walters (Brooklyn)

Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

Best Original Screenplay

Bridge of Spies

Ex Machina

Inside Out

Spotlight

Best Screenplay Adapted from Other Material

The Big Short

Brooklyn

The Martian

Room

Best Cinematography

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Best Film Editing

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

Spotlight

Best Production Design

Brooklyn

The Danish Girl

Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Costume Design

Cinderella

The Danish Girl

Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Visual Effects

Jurassic World

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

Best Original Score

Bridge of Spies

The Hateful Eight

The Revenant

Spotlight

Best Original Song

‘One Kind of Love’ (Love & Mercy)

‘See You Again’ (Furious 7)

‘Writing’s on the Wall’ (Spectre)

Best Ensemble Acting

The Big Short

The Hateful Eight

Spotlight

Trumbo

The Walk

Best Animated Film

Inside Out

The Peanuts Movie

Shaun the Sheep Movie

Best Documentary

Amy

He Named Me Malala

Where to Invade Next

Best Foreign Language Film

The Assassin

Mustang

Son of Saul

The Overlooked Film of the Year

Ex Machina

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Z for Zachariah

Best Breakthrough Performance

Abraham Attah (Beasts of No Nation)

Jacob Tremblay (Room)

Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)

Best Performance by a Youth

Abraham Attah (Beasts of No Nation)

Ed Oxenbould (The Visit)

Jacob Tremblay (Room)

SPOTLIGHT PULLS IT OUT WITH LAS VEGAS CRITICS AWARDS

We couldn't have seen it coming - it may be the Best Picture Oscar frontrunner, but that was the only category in which Spotlight appeared to lead when nominations were announced for the Las Vegas Film Critics Society. That is, ofc, due to the fact that those nominations appeared to be in ranked order. The film won four awards from LVFCS, including a rare Best Director prize for Tom McCarthy. Btw this group has horrible taste, as you'll see. Have a look below:

Best Picture
1. Spotlight
2. Creed
3. Ex Machina
4. Straight Outta Compton
5. Beasts of No Nation
6. The Martian
7. Mad Max: Fury Road
8. Sicario
9. Legend
10. Room

Best Director
Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Best Actress
Brie Larson (Room)

Best Supporting Actor
Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

Best Supporting Actress
Elizabeth Banks (Love & Mercy)

Best Original Screenplay
Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (Spotlight)

Best Adapted Screenplay
Drew Goddard (The Martian)

Best Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant)

Best Film Editing
Margaret Sixel (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Art Direction
Irene O'Brien and Robert Parle (Brooklyn)

Best Costume Design
Jenny Beavan (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Visual Effects
Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Score
Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight)

Best Song
'See You Again' (Furious 7)

Best Ensemble
Spotlight

Best Animated Film
Inside Out

Best Documentary
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

Best Foreign Film
Goodnight Mommy

Best Action Film
Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Comedy
Trainwreck

Best Family Film
Cinderella

Best Horror / Sci-Fi Film
Ex Machina

Breakout Filmmaker Award
Alex Garland (Ex Machina)

Youth in Film Award
Jacob Tremblay (Room)