LA LA LAND EQUALS OSCAR NOMINATION RECORD

The sensible few among us didn't show much sense after all - La La Land snags a bizarre and unwarranted Sound Editing nomination to bulldoze its way to a record-equalling 14 Oscar nominations. Its shock success isn't the only one among this year's Academy Awards slate, as Moonlight pretty much maxes out with eight mentions, while select figures such as Mel Gibson, Isabelle Huppert and Ruth Negga receive credit too. Alas, there are the usual losers, including a couple of significant snubs for Best Picture and Director nominee Arrival (including Amy Adams, sadly), and a near-total shut-out for Silence, unforgivably. The 89th annual Academy Awards take place just over a month from now, on the 26th of February.

Best Picture

Arrival (Dan Levine, Shawn Levy, David Linde and Aaron Ryder)

Fences (Todd Black, Scott Rudin and Denzel Washington)

Hacksaw Ridge (Bill Mechanic and David Permut)

Hell or High Water (Carla Hacken and Julie Yorn)

Hidden Figures (Peter Chernin, Donna Gigliotti, Theodore Melfi, Jenno Topping and Pharrell Williams)

La La Land (Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz and Marc Platt)

Lion (Iain Canning, Angie Fielder and Emile Sherman)

Manchester by the Sea (Lauren Beck, Matt Damon, Chris Moore, Kimberly Stewart and Kevin J. Walsh)

Moonlight (Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Adele Romanski)

Best Directing

Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge)

Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)

Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Isabelle Huppert (Elle)

Ruth Negga (Loving)

Natalie Portman (Jackie)

Emma Stone (La La Land)

Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)

Ryan Gosling (La La Land)

Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)

Denzel Washington (Fences)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Viola Davis (Fences)

Naomie Harris (Moonlight)

Nicole Kidman (Lion)

Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)

Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)

Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)

Dev Patel (Lion)

Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)

Best Writing - Original Screenplay

Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Efthymis Filippou and Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster)

Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)

Mike Mills (20th Century Women)

Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water)

Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay

Luke Davies (Lion)

Eric Heisserer (Arrival)

Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight)

Theodore Melfi and Allison Schroeder (Hidden Figures)

August Wilson (Fences)

Best Cinematography

Greig Fraser (Lion)

James Laxton (Moonlight)

Rodrigo Prieto (Silence)

Linus Sandgren (La La Land)

Bradford Young (Arrival)

Best Film Editing

Tom Cross (La La Land)

John Gilbert (Hacksaw Ridge)

Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders (Moonlight)

Jake Roberts (Hell or High Water)

Joe Walker (Arrival)

Best Production Design

Stuart Craig and Anna Pinnock (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them)

Guy Hendrix Dyas and Gene Serdena (Passengers)

Jess Gonchor and Nancy Haigh (Hail, Caesar!)

Paul Hotte and Patrice Vermette (Arrival)

Sandy Reynolds-Wasco and David Wasco (La La Land)

Best Costume Design

Colleen Atwood (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them)

Consolata Boyle (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Madeline Fontaine (Jackie)

Joanna Johnston (Allied)

Mary Zophres (La La Land)

Best Sound Mixing

Bernard Gariepy Strobl and Claude la Haye (Arrival)

Peter Grace, Robert MacKenzie, Kevin O'Connell and Andy Wright (Hacksaw Ridge)

Jeffrey J. Haboush, Mac Ruth and Gary Summers (13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi)

Lee Ai Ling, Steven Morrow and Andy Nelson (La La Land)

David Parker, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson (Rogue One)

Best Sound Editing

Bub Asman and Alan Robert Murray (Sully)

Sylvain Bellemare (Arrival)

Mildred Iatrou and Lee Ai Ling (La La Land)

Robert MacKenzie and Andy Wright (Hacksaw Ridge)

Wylie Stateman and Renee Tondelli (Deepwater Horizon)

Best Visual Effects

Jason Billington, Burt Dalton, Craig Hammack and Jason Snell (Deepwater Horizon)

Richard Bluff, Stephane Ceretti, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould (Doctor Strange)

Neil Corbould, Hal T. Hickel, John Knoll and Mohen Leo (Rogue One)

Steve Emerson, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean and Brad Schiff (Kubo and the Two Strings)

Andrew R. Jones, Robert Legato, Dan Lemmon and Adam Valdez (The Jungle Book)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Richard Alonzo and Joel Harlow (Star Trek Beyond)

Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson (Suicide Squad)

Love Larson and Eva von Bahr (A Man Called Ove)

Best Music (Original Score)

Volker Bertelmann and Dustin O'Halloran (Lion)

Nicholas Britell (Moonlight)

Justin Hurwitz (La La Land)

Mica Levi (Jackie)

Thomas Newman (Passengers)

Best Music (Original Song)

Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul - 'Audition (The Fools Who Dream)' (La La Land)

Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul - 'City Of Stars' (La La Land)

Max Martin, Karl Johan Schuster and Justin Timberlake - 'Can't Stop The Feeling' (Trolls)

Lin-Manuel Miranda - 'How Far I'll Go' (Moana)

J. Ralph and Gordon Sumner - 'The Empty Chair' (Jim: The James Foley Story)

Best Animated Feature Film

Kubo and the Two Strings (Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner)

Moana (Ron Clements, John Musker and Osnat Shurer)

My Life as a Courgette (Claude Barras and Max Karli)

The Red Turtle (Michael Dudok de Wit and Suzuki Toshio)

Zootopia (Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Clark Spencer)

Best Documentary Feature

13th (Spencer Averick, Howard Barish and Ava DuVernay)

Fire at Sea (Donatella Palermo and Gianfranco Rosi)

I Am Not Your Negro (Remi Grellety, Hebert Peck and Raoul Peck)

Life, Animated (Julie Goldman and Roger Ross Williams)

O.J.: Made in America (Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow)

Best Foreign Language Film

Land of Mine (Martin Zandvliet) - Denmark

A Man Called Ove (Hannes Holm) - Sweden

The Salesman (Asghar Farhadi) - Iran

Tanna (Martin Butler and Bentley Dean) - Australia

Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade) - Germany

Best Short Film (Live Action)

Ennemis Interieurs (Selim Azzazi)

La Femme et le TGV (Giacun Caduff and Timo von Gunten)

Silent Nights (Aske Bang and Kim Magnusson)

Sing (Kristof Deak and Anna Udvardi)

Timecode (Juanjo Gimenez)

Best Short Film (Animated)

Blind Vaysha (Theodore Ushev)

Borrowed Time (Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj)

Pear Cider and Cigarettes (Cara Speller and Robert Valley)

Pearl (Patrick Osborne)

Piper (Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer)

Best Documentary Short

4.1 Miles (Daphne Matziaraki)

Extremis (Dan Krauss)

Joe's Violin (Kahane Cooperman and Raphaela Neihausen)

Watani: My Homeland (Stephen Ellis and Marcel Mettelsiefen)

The White Helmets (Joanna Natasegara and Orlando von Einsiedel)

74 YEARS, MEET LA LA LAND - THE 2016 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD WINNERS

On the night that La La Land broke records and won in a clean sweep, becoming the most-awarded film in the 74-history of the Golden Globes, on the night that Elle won Best Actress for the legendary Isabelle Huppert, on the night that Moonlight went empty-handed until taking the big prize, on the night that I lost way too much sleep for this shit...

Best Picture - Drama

Moonlight

Best Picture - Musical or Comedy

La La Land

Best Director

Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Best Actress - Drama

Isabelle Huppert (Elle)

Best Actress - Musical or Comedy

Emma Stone (La La Land)

Best Actor - Drama

Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

Best Actor - Musical or Comedy

Ryan Gosling (La La Land)

Best Supporting Actress

Viola Davis (Fences)

Best Supporting Actor

Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nocturnal Animals)

Best Screenplay

Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Best Original Score

Justin Hurwitz (La La Land)

Best Original Song

Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul - 'City of Stars' (La La Land)

Best Animated Feature

Zootopia

Best Foreign Language Film

Elle

Cecil B. DeMille Award

Meryl Streep

SIX SEATTLE FILM CRITICS SOCIETY AWARDS FOR MOONLIGHT

Moonlight wins a lot of awards from the Seattle Film Critics Society, so I put up a picture of Isabelle Huppert in Elle. I've trawled through Google for enough images of the former, and she wins here too. And none for La La Land! Let's all move to Seattle! Check out their nominations here, and their awards actual here:

Best Picture

1. Moonlight

2. Elle

Best Director

1. Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

2. Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Best Actress in a Leading Role

1. Isabelle Huppert (Elle)

2. Amy Adams (Arrival)

=  Natalie Portman (Jackie)

Best Actor in a Leading Role

1. Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

2. Denzel Washington (Fences)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

1. Viola Davis (Fences)

2. Lily Gladstone (Certain Women)

=  Naomie Harris (Moonlight)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1. Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

2. John Goodman (10 Cloverfield Lane)

Best Screenplay

1. Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight)

2. Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)

Best Cinematography

1. Bradford Young (Arrival)

2. Linus Sandgren (La La Land)

Best Film Editing

1. Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders (Moonlight)

2. Joe Walker (Arrival)

Best Production Design

1. Ryu Seong Hee (The Handmaiden)

2. Sandy Reynolds-Wasco and David Wasco (La La Land)

Best Costume Design

1. Jo Sang Gyeong (The Handmaiden)

2. Eimer ni Mhaoldomhnaigh (Love & Friendship)

Best Visual Effects

1. Richard Bluff, Stephane Ceretti, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould (Doctor Strange)

=  Louis Morin (Arrival)

Best Original Score

1. Johann Johannsson (Arrival)

2. Justin Hurwitz (La La Land)

Best Ensemble Cast

1. Moonlight

2. Fences

Best Animated Feature

1. Zootopia (Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Rich Moore)

2. Kubo and the Two Strings (Travis Knight)

Best Documentary Feature

1. O.J.: Made in America (Ezra Edelman)

2. 13th (Ava DuVernay)

Best Foreign Language Film

1. Elle (Paul Verhoeven)

2. The Handmaiden (Park Chan Wook)

Best Youth Performance

1. Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch)

2. Royalty Hightower (The Fits)

=  Sunny Pawar (Lion)

Best Villain

1. John Goodman (10 Cloverfield Lane)

2. Charlie and Wahab Chaudary (The Witch)

LFF 2016 REVIEW - ELLE (PAUL VERHOEVEN)

Paul Verhoeven remodels the erotic mystery thriller in Elle, a caustic comedy that is far more challenging than you're prepared for. The great director handles this strange, surprising story with a flippancy and a tonal restlessness that resembles less those films in his career to which this bears some similarities as it does that entire career, and suggesting ever further advancements in his artistic and psychological inquiries. Indeed, even Verhoeven's treatment of that story is surprising, bringing bizarre qualities to bracing life yet grounding them in diegesis that he somehow keeps consistently concordant, while putting a fresh, confrontational spin on already-discomfiting material. It's in his interpretation, and his almost alone, that this curious crime drama acquires its singular character, and thus forms a unity in its outlook to that of its protagonist. In that Isabelle Huppert so typically assumes total, inimitable control over her role, she engages in an interpretative collaboration with her director, ever matching Elle's many perverse twists and turns, and enhancing them further, with quirks of her own devising. Control is central to the statements made in Elle that run through its otherwise disparate, disarming lines of interest, proposing provocative solutions to the challenge of defining a woman's identity that will doubtless disgust many. Yet the bold individuality of this fascinating character is such that the objective viewer can only applaud her bravery and her intelligence, and her unyielding dedication to personal fulfilment. In fulfilling our requirements too, as unknown to us as they initially are, Elle deserves every last bit of that applause.

LFF 2016 PREVIEW: ELLE

'Verhoeven is now the same age as Bunuel when he directed That Obscure Object of Desire. May his French period last even longer'

Fernando F. Croce, MUBI's Notebook

'Paul Verhoeven at the height of his artistic powers'

Kenji Fujishima, Movie Mezzanine

'A tour de force turn from Isabelle Huppert'

Lisa Nesselson, Screen Daily

Now how did this happen? Having convinced us all that the Paul Verhoeven we all used to love (or hate) was nowhere to be found, with 2006's Black Book his only credit since 2000's Hollow Man save 2012's low-budget curio Tricked, which itself only arrived in US theatres this February, Paul Verhoeven teams up with David Birke, the writer of such classics as Freeway Killer and 13 Sins for Elle, one of the unexpected critical hits of 2016. Isabelle Huppert stars as a woman who uses her experience of being raped to turn her life around in strange, provocative ways. Huppert received raves when the film opened in Cannes, and it shot to the top of many lists as the frontrunner for the Palme d'Or; its exclusion from the jury awards was just one of several highly controversial decisions reached by George Miller's panel that day. The reception was so strong that Sony Pictures Classics picked the film up in order to give it an awards season run in the US, where it opens on the 11th of November. Its UK theatrical release arrives on the 24th of February, but not after it has screened at the London Film Festival next month, and you can bet it's on my programme!

REVIEW - THINGS TO COME (MIA HANSEN-LOVE)

Where other films might require their audience to do a spot of research before viewing, Mia Hansen-Love's Things to Come instead inspires its audience to do its research after viewing. Dense with philosophy and politics, it is nevertheless light in its application of these driving themes, and boy do they ever drive! Inviting us to examine life through the philosophical perspective adopted by its characters, the film models itself as an otherwise plain, familiar middle-age melodrama, encouraging us to probe further into its intellectual, emotional and formal complexity. Hansen-Love is a consummately non-melodramatic director, however, with an exquisitely subtle, quietly expressive style of filmmaking, stemming from a script that wears its intelligence on its sleeve yet never demands the viewer to match it in this regard. You needn't know much about Pascal nor Rousseau, nor even be particularly well-versed in the political constitution of Europe in the late 20th Century to appreciate Things to Come, though indubitably the greater one's knowledge, the richer the experience. And equally so for one's sympathies, since Hansen-Love has nothing but sympathy for her characters. Her flattering opinion on each engenders a fine, fresh outlook on Isabelle Huppert's teacher cast adrift by forces beyond her control, permitting her the freedom to pick whatever path she wishes to take in undergoing such personal upheaval - whatever path she chooses, so long she does so sincerely, will not even be a choice. It's a liberating take on liberation, and fully exploited by Huppert, arguably never as radiant as she is here. Hansen-Love does allow other roles to sink into under-developed parody, however, and regularly seems blind to the ironic limitations of her societal purview. But what she does depict is done with diligence, sensitivity and, most of all, supreme cleverness.

CANNES 2016: DAY TEN - ELLE

A quick one this. To conclude SOS long-distance report on the performances of the Cannes competition titles this year, here are some notices for Paul Verhoeven's Elle. The final film to screen for critics has closed the festival in fine form, with a surprisingly unbroken line of positive write-ups on the rape revenge film starring Isabelle Huppert. It sure shakes up the competition, and right at the last minute!

Elle enters the Palme Poll with a lofty placement indeed, and looks like a safe bet for several awards, not just one of the top three.

With the announcement of the FIPRESCI prizes, the Critics' Week and Directors' Fortnight polls are now closed. Select titles in these categories remain eligible for the Camera d'Or, l'Oeil d'Or and the Queer Palm, however. The UCR poll will stay open until that section's awards are announced.

THINGS TO COME TRAILER WITH ISABELLE HUPPERT

What is it about Isabelle Huppert? What is it about her that makes me want to just watch and watch her ad infinitum? What is it that she gets, that no other actors seem to get? Here she is in the trailer for Mia Hansen-Love's Things to Come, a trailer which I mightn't have warmed to were it not for her presence (and my appreciation of Hansen-Love's last film, Eden). There does Mme. Huppert again - what is it about her that makes me care about a trailer like this? And just days after appearing in the first trailer for Paul Verhoeven's Elle! And Edith Scob in this one to boot! I can't help but look forward to this film now. Neither US nor UK release dates are yet available.

PAUL VERHOEVEN'S ELLE - TRAILER

As we look ahead to at least a couple more months of dreck at the box office, how enticing to see something like this land on our collective cinephile laps. After his last film, 2012's 55-minute Tricked was largely ignored, Elle represents Paul Verhoeven's return to a bigger stage. The magnificent Isabelle Huppert plays sexual assault survivor Michelle, whose outlook on life becomes radically, dangerously altered in the aftermath of her attack. There's only a French release on the radar, on the 21st of September, suggesting that a summer festival debut may be on the cards. Check out the intriguing, '90s-tinged trailer above.