ACE Eddie Award Nominations

The Critics and the Golden Globes have all weighed in with nominations and awards, but in the long run, these really don’t mean much in terms of the Academy. They’ve always done their own thing, and nominated their own people. And for that reason, the only true Oscar predicators are the individual guild awards. Why? Because the Academy is made up of producers, actors, editors, cinematographers, etc., and therefore the guilds obviously share membership with the overall Academy. So what these small groups end up voting for usually indicate what the Academy will vote for, with few exceptions. And we’re finally hearing their voice, as the American Cinema Editors Guild has announced their ACE Editing Nominations.

The Editors split their nominations into two fields, Drama and Musical/Comedy, as they are two very unique styles of editing. This means that La La Land will be competing against Hail, Caesar!, Deadpool, and, um, The Jungle Book (is that a comedy? It seemed kinda dark to me…) for the Eddie. This should give the film a runaway victory, bar some kind of voter uprising. Meanwhile, drama has established itself as a battle between the classical (Hacksaw Ridge and Hell or High Water) vs. the flashy (Arrival and Manchester by the Sea), with the avant-garde playing upset (Moonlight). These predictions seem to cement that La La Land, Moonlight, and Manchester by the Sea, are in a brutal three-way battle to take home the Oscar, both for editing and for Best Picture. The two aren’t mortally tied, but there’s only been one film to win the Oscar without an Eddie nomination in several decades, and that was last year’s Spotlight. So it seems that these three have the best shot, with Arrival and Hell or High Water seeming viable, and Hacksaw Ridge increasing its chances exponentially. Meanwhile, expected nominees who needed love to increase their chances at the eventual Oscars include Silence, Loving, Jackie, Fences, and 20^th Century Women.

As for the other categories, it seems that 13^th and O.J.: Made in America have secured their place as the two most likely Best Documentary contenders, while Weiner finally starts gaining some ground in the race after a rough December. All three are great films, as is Amanda Knox, another nominee, and should be given a viewing if the chance arises. Meanwhile, the most interesting thing about the television nominees is the obvious love for Silicon Valley, Veep, and Better Call Saul, as well as the expected-but-still-pleasant love for Stranger Things and Game of Thrones’ “Battle of the Bastards” (both shows are amongst the best of the year). And while I haven’t reached “Assassins” yet, I can confirm that The Crown is, indeed, one of the best-edited shows of the year.

It’s nice to see the Oscar race shaping up like this, with so many great films getting the attention they deserve. I will be trying to get my updated Oscar predictions up by tomorrow, before the Writers Guild announces their awards, but we shall see. As for the Editors, they will announce their picks from these expertly edited films on January 27^th.

Best Edited Feature Film-Drama

• Arrival-Joe Walker
• Hacksaw Ridge-John Gilbert
• Hell or High Water-Jake Roberts
• Manchester by the Sea-Jennifer Lame
• Moonlight-Nat Sanders, Joi McMillon

Best Edited Feature Film-Comedy

• Deadpool-Julian Clarke
• Hail, Caesar!-Roderick Jaynes
• The Jungle Book-Mark Livolsi
• La La Land-Tom Cross
• The Lobster-Yorgos Mavropsaridis

Best Edited Animated Feature

• Kubo and the Two Strings
• Moana
• Zootopia

Best Edited Documentary Feature

• 13^th
• Amanda Knox
• The Beatles: Eight Days a Week-The Touring Years
• J.: Made in America
• Weiner

Best Edited Documentary (Television)

• The Choice 2016
• Everything is Copy
• We Will Rise: Michelle Obama’s Mission to Educate Girls Around the World

Best Edited Half-Hour Series

• Silicon Valley-The Uptick
• Veep-Morning After
• Veep-Mother

Best Edited One-Hour Series-Commercial

• Better Call Saul-Fifi
• Better Call Saul-Klick
• Better Call Saul-Nailed
• Robot-eps2.4m4ster-slave.aes
• This Is Us-Pilot

Best Edited One-Hour Series-Non-Commercial

• The Crown-Assassins
• Game of Thrones-Battle of the Bastards
• Stranger Things-Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers
• Stranger Things-Chapter Seven: The Bathtub
• Westworld-The Original

Best Edited Miniseries or Television Movie

• All the Way
• The Night Of-The Beach
• The People V. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story-Marcia, Marcia, Marcia

Best Edited Non-Scripted Series

• Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown-Manila
• Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown-Senegal
• Deadliest Catch-Fire at Sea: Part 2