The 2021 Trainwreck’d Society Academy Awards [Exclusive]

I have to start this off with an apology. I had every intention of having this up the morning prior to the Oscars that premiered last night. But, as it always seems to be these days…COVID fucked that up. My wife got her second dose, and it completely wrecked her shit, to say the least. Therefore, I got busy taking care of her and then replacing her for volunteer swim duties the day of the my daughters’ swim meet. So, I guess we are going to make this a day after event, should it continue to go on. With that in mind, let’s begin….

So, I got a wild proverbial hair up my ass and decided that I would like to know what a different sort of Oscar outcome would look like. The Oscars are often criticized. I believe the hashtag this year was #OscarsSoLame. In previous years, it was #OscarsSoWhite. The latter was very appropriate. And it still kind of is, but strides are being taken. Look, I’m not here to defend or debunk the Academy. They vote how they want, and that is just fine. But, I would be lying to myself and all of you fine people if I said that if Oscar nominated films were a genre in themselves, it wouldn’t be my favorite. I’ve always loved the majority of the films that win the big, and small, awards. In will always remember the 1998 Oscars fondly. I fucking hated Titanic. It took 11 Oscars that year. But, like 8 of them they deserved, because it was for technical stuff. But, the performance and writing awards went to films I absolutely loved. As Good As It Gets and Good Will Hunting got exactly what they deserved at a minimum. Although, hindsight showed me that Elliot Smith should have overpowered Celine Dion, but that I wouldn’t have been my thought that at 13, as I was far too chipper of a boy to listen to Elliot Smith, and the internet was new, and I only knew what was on MTV. Elliot was not. Basically what I mean is that with some exceptions, Oscar winning films tend to be some of my favorite films. From Annie Hall to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, to Hustle and Flow and South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut. Many of the films I love and treasure have been at least nominated. Many have not. Sure, the outcomes sometimes suck (Looking at you Green Book), but overall, Oscar movies tend to bring me joy. I enjoy a good old fashion blockbuster as much as the next bruv, but this is where my wheelhouse rests.

So, with that in mind, I decided it would be fun to put together my own Academy. I reached out to many people who have been either featured on TWS, or are associated in some way. Many people didn’t care to opt in, and I get it. It’s not for everyone. But, I did manage to pull together a very respectable and amazing crew of folks who wanted to pitch in. I made a poll, and let the new Trainwreck’d Society Academy of Motion Pictures and Science decide who they thought was the best. And, I have to say, with the actual Oscars event over with, it wasn’t that far off. And I also have to say, we actually did better.

So, before we get into the list, I wanted to let you all know, and pay my thanks, to the TWS Academy. These brave folks took the time out of their busy schedules to become a part of a historic effort on my part, that sort of bombed, but hey, we had fun. So, here is your Academy:

Bill Briles (filmmaker/actor, A Private Dancer in Mom’s Kitchen)
Aimee Lynn Chadwick (actress, Return of the Living Dead 2: Rave to the Grave)
Zed Cutsinger (podcaster, Views From the Vista)
Chris Eaves (filmmaker/writer/bearded hero, Trainwreck’d Society)
Elsa Faith (musician, Soul Distraction)
David Joyner (actor, Barney & Friends)
Myq Kaplan (comedian)
Laura Madsen (publicist/actress, Shooting Clerks)
Kelly Masterson (writer, Snowpiercer)
Honor Nezzo (musician/podcaster, Views From The Vista)
Chad Opitz (comedian)
Bob Saenz (writer, Extracurricular Activities)
Anna Shields (actress/writer, Monstrous)
Jacob Stafford (USAF vet, midwest fashion icon)
Timothy Tanner (actor, At the House of Madness)
Gabriel Theis (filmmaker, The Curse of Professor Zardonicus)
Ron Trembath (duh?)
Craig B. Warmsley (actor, Unchained)
Frank Whaley (actor, Pulp Fiction)
Austin Whiting (USAF vet, Barenaked Ladies enthusiast)

So here they are Folks! A damn good group, if I do say so myself. Hopefully they will return next year, and we will add some folks, should this continue. And again, I apologize for my tardiness. Maybe next year I will include some photos. But, for now, I hope you enjoy what we have for you all. Take care!

******

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

NOMINEES

RIZ AHMED

Sound of Metal

CHADWICK BOSEMAN – WINNER –

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

ANTHONY HOPKINS

The Father

GARY OLDMAN

Mank

STEVEN YEUN

Minari

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

NOMINEES

SACHA BARON COHEN

The Trial of the Chicago 7

DANIEL KALUUYA – WINNER –

Judas and the Black Messiah

LESLIE ODOM, JR.

One Night in Miami…

PAUL RACI

Sound of Metal

LAKEITH STANFIELD

Judas and the Black Messiah

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

NOMINEES

VIOLA DAVIS

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

ANDRA DAY

The United States vs. Billie Holiday

VANESSA KIRBY

Pieces of a Woman

FRANCES MCDORMAND

Nomadland

CAREY MULLIGAN – WINNER –

Promising Young Woman

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

NOMINEES

MARIA BAKALOVA – WINNER –

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

GLENN CLOSE

Hillbilly Elegy

OLIVIA COLMAN

The Father

AMANDA SEYFRIED

Mank

YUH-JUNG YOUN

Minari

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

NOMINEES

ONWARD

Dan Scanlon and Kori Rae

OVER THE MOON

Glen Keane, Gennie Rim and Peilin Chou

A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON

Richard Phelan, Will Becher and Paul Kewley

SOUL – WINNER –

Pete Docter and Dana Murray

WOLFWALKERS

Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, Paul Young and Stéphan Roelants

CINEMATOGRAPHY

NOMINEES

JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH – WINNER –

Sean Bobbitt

MANK

Erik Messerschmidt

NEWS OF THE WORLD

Dariusz Wolski

NOMADLAND

Joshua James Richards

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Phedon Papamichael

COSTUME DESIGN

NOMINEES

EMMA

Alexandra Byrne

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

• WINNER

Ann Roth

MANK

Trish Summerville

MULAN

Bina Daigeler

PINOCCHIO

Massimo Cantini Parrini

DIRECTING

NOMINEES

ANOTHER ROUND

Thomas Vinterberg

MANK

David Fincher

MINARI

Lee Isaac Chung

NOMADLAND

Chloé Zhao

• WINNER

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Emerald Fennell

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)

NOMINEES

COLLECTIVE

Alexander Nanau and Bianca Oana

CRIP CAMP

Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht and Sara Bolder

THE MOLE AGENT

Maite Alberdi and Marcela Santibáñez

MY OCTOPUS TEACHER

Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed and Craig Foster

• WINNER

TIME

Garrett Bradley, Lauren Domino and Kellen Quinn

DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)

NOMINEES

COLETTE

Anthony Giacchino and Alice Doyard

A CONCERTO IS A CONVERSATION

Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers

• WINNER

DO NOT SPLIT

Anders Hammer and Charlotte Cook

HUNGER WARD

Skye Fitzgerald and Michael Scheuerman

A LOVE SONG FOR LATASHA

Sophia Nahli Allison and Janice Duncan

FILM EDITING

NOMINEES

THE FATHER

Yorgos Lamprinos

NOMADLAND

Chloé Zhao

• WINNER

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Frédéric Thoraval

SOUND OF METAL

Mikkel E. G. Nielsen

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Alan Baumgarten

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

NOMINEES

ANOTHER ROUND

Denmark

• WINNER

BETTER DAYS

Hong Kong

COLLECTIVE

Romania

THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS SKIN

Tunisia

QUO VADIS, AIDA?

Bosnia and Herzegovina

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

NOMINEES

EMMA

Marese Langan, Laura Allen and Claudia Stolze

HILLBILLY ELEGY

Eryn Krueger Mekash, Matthew Mungle and Patricia Dehaney

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson

• WINNER

MANK

Gigi Williams, Kimberley Spiteri and Colleen LaBaff

PINOCCHIO

Mark Coulier, Dalia Colli and Francesco Pegoretti

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

NOMINEES

DA 5 BLOODS

Terence Blanchard

MANK

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

MINARI

Emile Mosseri

NEWS OF THE WORLD

James Newton Howard

SOUL

Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste

• WINNER

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

NOMINEES

FIGHT FOR YOU

from Judas and the Black Messiah; Music by H.E.R. and Dernst Emile II; Lyric by H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas

HEAR MY VOICE

from The Trial of the Chicago 7; Music by Daniel Pemberton; Lyric by Daniel Pemberton and Celeste Waite

HUSAVIK

from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga; Music and Lyric by Savan Kotecha, Fat Max Gsus and Rickard Göransson

IO SÌ (SEEN)

from The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se); Music by Diane Warren; Lyric by Diane Warren and Laura Pausini

SPEAK NOW

from One Night in Miami…; Music and Lyric by Leslie Odom, Jr. and Sam Ashworth

• WINNER

BEST PICTURE

NOMINEES

THE FATHER

David Parfitt, Jean-Louis Livi and Philippe Carcassonne, Producers

JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH

Shaka King, Charles D. King and Ryan Coogler, Producers

• WINNER

MANK

Ceán Chaffin, Eric Roth and Douglas Urbanski, Producers

MINARI

Christina Oh, Producer

NOMADLAND

Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey and Chloé Zhao, Producers

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Ben Browning, Ashley Fox, Emerald Fennell and Josey McNamara, Producers

SOUND OF METAL

Bert Hamelinck and Sacha Ben Harroche, Producers

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Marc Platt and Stuart Besser, Producers

PRODUCTION DESIGN

NOMINEES

THE FATHER

Production Design: Peter Francis; Set Decoration: Cathy Featherstone

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Production Design: Mark Ricker; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara and Diana Stoughton

MANK

Production Design: Donald Graham Burt; Set Decoration: Jan Pascale

NEWS OF THE WORLD

Production Design: David Crank; Set Decoration: Elizabeth Keenan

TENET

Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas

• WINNER

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

NOMINEES

BURROW

Madeline Sharafian and Michael Capbarat

GENIUS LOCI

Adrien Mérigeau and Amaury Ovise

IF ANYTHING HAPPENS I LOVE YOU

Will McCormack and Michael Govier

• WINNER* (actually forgot to include this one, so the Academy can have the final say)

OPERA

Erick Oh

YES-PEOPLE

Gísli Darri Halldórsson and Arnar Gunnarsson

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

NOMINEES

FEELING THROUGH

Doug Roland and Susan Ruzenski

THE LETTER ROOM

Elvira Lind and Sofia Sondervan

THE PRESENT

Farah Nabulsi and Ossama Bawardi

TWO DISTANT STRANGERS

Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe

• WINNER

WHITE EYE

Tomer Shushan and Shira Hochman

SOUND

NOMINEES

GREYHOUND

Warren Shaw, Michael Minkler, Beau Borders and David Wyman

MANK

Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance and Drew Kunin

NEWS OF THE WORLD

Oliver Tarney, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller and John Pritchett

SOUL

Ren Klyce, Coya Elliott and David Parker

SOUND OF METAL

Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michellee Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés and Phillip Bladh

• WINNER

VISUAL EFFECTS

NOMINEES

LOVE AND MONSTERS

Matt Sloan, Genevieve Camilleri, Matt Everitt and Brian Cox

THE MIDNIGHT SKY

Matthew Kasmir, Christopher Lawrence, Max Solomon and David Watkins

MULAN

Sean Faden, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury and Steve Ingram

THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN

Nick Davis, Greg Fisher, Ben Jones and Santiago Colomo Martinez

TENET

Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley and Scott Fisher

• WINNER

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

NOMINEES

BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM: DELIVERY OF PRODIGIOUS BRIBE TO AMERICAN REGIME FOR MAKE BENEFIT ONCE GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN

Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Dan Swimer & Peter Baynham & Erica Rivinoja & Dan Mazer & Jena Friedman & Lee Kern; Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Dan Swimer & Nina Pedrad

• WINNER

THE FATHER

Screenplay by Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller

NOMADLAND

Written for the screen by Chloé Zhao

ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI…

Screenplay by Kemp Powers

THE WHITE TIGER

Written for the screen by Ramin Bahrani

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

NOMINEES

JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH

Screenplay by Will Berson & Shaka King; Story by Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas

• WINNER

MINARI

Written by Lee Isaac Chung

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Written by Emerald Fennell

SOUND OF METAL

Screenplay by Darius Marder & Abraham Marder; Story by Darius Marder & Derek Cianfrance

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Written by Aaron Sorkin

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE