Awards season keeps on keepin' on, which means we have even more nominees to talk about. The latest batch of nominations comes via two different awards bodies: the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), and the American Cinema Editors Awards (ACE), nicknamed the Eddie Awards. On the cinematography front, there are several...oh, let's say, surprises. The biggest surprise is likely a nomination for Cherry, a genuinely bad movie that has rather showy cinematography that immediately takes you out of the film. On the editing front, you'll see nominations for Mank, Minari, and more.
Let's start with the 2021 American Society of Cinematographers Awards nominees, shall we? Look, I'm no awards season pundit, and I find movie awards kind of frustrating at times – they have the ability to turn films into something akin to sporting events, and I don't enjoy that. Still, there are plenty of great movies from 2020 that are certainly deserving of praise. And then there are films that land nominations for reasons that can't be comprehended. This list is a good example of that – I'm sorry, but Cherry does not deserve to be recognized for its cinematography. Ditto Trial of the Chicago 7, a movie that I seemed to like more than most, but also a movie that looks pretty damn flat, visually. But what do I know? I'm not a member of the ASC.
The winners of the 2021 American Society of Cinematographers Awards will be announced on April 18. Here's the full list of nominees.
FEATURE FILM
Erik Messerschmidt, ASC for Mank
Phedon Papamichael, ASC, GSC for The Trial of the Chicago 7
Joshua James Richards for Nomadland
Newton Thomas Sigel, ASC for Cherry
Dariusz Wolski, ASC for News of the World
SPOTLIGHT
Katelin Arizmendi for Swallow
Aurélien Marra for Two of Us
Andrey Naydenov for Dear Comrades!
DOCUMENTARY
Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw for The Truffle Hunters
Viktor Kosakovskiy and Egil Håskjold Larsen for Gunda
Gianfranco Rosi for Notturno
MOTION PICTURE, LIMITED SERIES, OR PILOT MADE FOR TELEVISION
Martin Ahlgren, ASC for The Plot Against America, "Part 6"
Anette Haellmigk for The Great, "The Great"
Pete Konczal for Fargo, "The Birthplace of Civilization"
Steven Meizler for The Queen's Gambit, "End Game"
Gregory Middleton, ASC, CSC for Watchmen, "This Extraordinary Being"
EPISODE OF A ONE-HOUR TELEVISION SERIES – COMMERCIAL
Marshall Adams, ASC for Better Call Saul, "Bagman"
Carlos Catalán for Killing Eve, "Meetings Have Biscuits"
François Dagenais, CSC for Project Blue Book, "Area 51"
Jon Joffin, ASC for Motherland: Fort Salem, "Up is Down"
C. Kim Miles, ASC, CSC, MySC for Project Blue Book, "Operation Mainbrace"
EPISODE OF A ONE-HOUR TELEVISION SERIES – NON-COMMERCIAL
David Franco for Perry Mason, "Chapter 2"
Ken Glassing for Lucifer, "It Never Ends Well for the Chicken"
Adriano Goldman, ASC, ABC, BSC for The Crown, "Fairytale"
David Greene, ASC, CSC for Impulse, "The Moroi"
M. David Mullen, ASC for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, "It's Comedy or Cabbage"
Fabian Wagner, ASC, BSC for The Crown, "Imbroglio"
EPISODE OF A HALF-HOUR TELEVISION SERIES
Ava Berkofsky for Insecure, "Lowkey Lost"
Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS for The Mandalorian, "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian"
Baz Idoine for The Mandalorian, "Chapter 13: The Jedi"
Matthew Jensen, ASC for The Mandalorian, "Chapter 15: The Believer"
Jas Shelton for Homecoming, "Giant"
Now let's move on to the 71st ACE Eddie Awards, which come courtesy of The American Cinema Editors. I don't have any complaints here, really. On the TV front, I'm thrilled to see Better Call Saul – one of the best-edited shows on TV – land some nominations. Film-wise, I would've loved to see I'm Thinking of Ending Things score a nom, but that film appears to be completely shut-out of awards season. So it goes.
The 71st ACE Eddie Awards will be presented on April 17. The complete list of nominees follows:
BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (DRAMATIC)
Mank - Kirk Baxter, ACE
Minari - Harry Yoon, ACE
Nomadland - Chloé Zhao
Sound of Metal - Mikkel E. G. Nielsen
The Trial of Chicago 7 - Alan Baumgarten, ACE
BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (COMEDY)
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm - James Thomas, Craig Alpert, ACE, Mike Giambra
I Care a Lot - Mark Eckersley, ACE
On The Rocks - Sarah Flack, ACE
Palm Springs - Matthew Friedman, ACE and Andrew Dickler
Promising Young Woman - Frédéric Thoraval
BEST EDITED ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
The Croods: A New Age - James Ryan, ACE
Onward - Catherine Apple
Over the Moon - Edie Ichioka, ACE
Soul - Kevin Nolting, ACE
Wolfwalkers - Darragh Byrne , Richie Cody, Darren Holmes, ACE
BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
All In: The Fight for Democracy - Nancy Novack
Dick Johnson is Dead - Nels Bangerter
The Dissident - Scott D. Hanson, James Leche, Wyatt Rogowski, Avner Shiloah
My Octopus Teacher - Pippa Ehrlich, Dan Schwalm
The Social Dilemma - Davis Coombe
BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (NON-THEATRICAL)
Beastie Boys Story - Jeff Buchanan, ACE, Zoe Schack
The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart - Derek Boonstra, Robert A. Martinez
The Last Dance "Episode I" - Chad Beck, ACE, Devin Concannon, Abhay Sofsky, Ben Sozanski, ACE
Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult "Exposed" - Inbal B. Lessner, ACE, Alex Jablonski, Gillian McCarthy, Matthew Moul, Chris A. Peterson, ACE
BEST EDITED COMEDY SERIES FOR COMMERCIAL TELEVISION
The Good Place "Whenever You're Ready" - Eric Kissack
Schitt's Creek "Happy Ending" - Trevor Ambrose, CCE
What We Do in the Shadows "On The Run"- Dane McMaster, Varun Viswanath
What We Do in the Shadows "Resurrection" – Yana Gorskaya, ACE, Dane McMaster
BEST EDITED COMEDY SERIES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL TELEVISION
Curb Your Enthusiasm "Happy New Year" - Tim Roche, ACE
Insecure "Lowkey Trying"- Nena Erb, ACE
Ted Lasso "The Hope That Kills You" - A.J. Catoline
Ted Lasso "Make Rebecca Great Again" - Melissa McCoy
BEST EDITED DRAMA SERIES FOR COMMERCIAL TELEVISION
Better Call Saul "Bad Choice Road"- Joey Liew, Chris McCaleb, ACE
Killing Eve "Still Got It" - Dan Crinnion, ACE
Mr. Robot "Method Not Allowed" - Rosanne Tan, ACE
This Is Us "Forty: Part Two" - Julia Grove, Lai-San Ho
BEST EDITED DRAMA SERIES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL TELEVISION
Bosch "The Ace Hotel" - Steven Cohen ACE
Euphoria "Trouble Don't Last Always" – Julio C. Perez IV, ACE
The Mandalorian "Sanctuary" - Dana E. Glauberman, ACE
Ozark "Wartime" - Cindy Mollo, ACE
BEST EDITED LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE FOR TELEVISION
Hamilton - Jonah Moran
Mrs. America "Phyllis" - Robert Komatsu, ACE
The Queen's Gambit "Exchanges"- Michelle Tesoro, ACE
Watchmen "The Extraordinary Being" - Anna Hauger
BEST EDITED NON-SCRIPTED SERIES
Cheer "God Blessed Texas" - Kate Hackett, Daniel McDonald, Mark Morgan, Sharon Weaver, Ted Woerner
The Circus: Inside The Greatest Political Show on Earth "Who the F*** Are We?" – Jane Jo, Benji Kast, Seth Skundrick, Evan Wise
Deadliest Catch "Mayday Mayday" - Rob Butler, ACE, Isaiah Camp, ACE, Joe Mikan, ACE, Art O'Leary, Ian Olsen, Josh Stockero
How To With John Wilson "How To Cook the Perfect Risotto" - Adam Locke-Norton
BEST EDITED VARIETY TALK/SKETCH SHOW OR SPECIAL
8:46 - Steven Bognar
Dave Chappelle: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize For American Humor - Jon Alloway, Chester G Contaoi, Brian Forbes, Brad Gilson, Pi Ware
David Byrne's American Utopia - Adam Gough, ACE
Saturday Night Live "Tom Hanks" - Paul Del Gesso, Yanni Feder, Daniel Garcia, Jack Klink, Richard Lampasone, Ryan McIlraith, Sean McIlraith, Steven Pierce, Christopher Salerno, Devon Schwab, Ryan Spears, Jason Watkins
BEST EDITED ANIMATION (NON-THEATRICAL)
Big Mouth "Nick Starr" - Felipe Salazar
Bob's Burgers "Bob Belcher and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Kids" - Jeremy Reuben
BoJack Horseman "Nice While It Lasted" - Brian Swanson
Rick and Morty "Rattlestar Ricklactica" - Lee Harting