What does the National Board of Review picking Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza mean for the Oscar race? Well, we’re not entirely sure. If you remember, last year Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods” was named Best Picture by the same voting group.
Then again, if “Licorice Pizza” ends up winning the New York Film Critics Circle tomorrow then you can bet all the buzzy momentum will be on its side.
NBR, who also gave the Best Director award to PTA, completely snubbed Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” and that, to me, is incredibly disappointing. This was probably their attempt to sabotage Campion’s film with other voting groups, but I don’t think it’s going to work — Campion is the current frontrunner to win New York and L.A.
West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler received a major boost by winning Best Actress. Ditto King Richard’s Will Smith nabbing the Best Actor prize. The Supporting Actor prize went to Belfast’s Ciaran Hinds, and Supporting Actress was rewarded to King Richard’s Aunjanue Ellis.
Completing NBR’s top ten of the year were “Belfast,” “Dune,” “King Richard,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” “Don’t Look Up,” “Nightmare Alley,” “Red Rocket,” “West Side Story,” and “The Last Duel.”
Still no distributor for "Bucking Fastard," "Alpha Gang," "The Last Photograph," "Closing Night," and "The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd." The issue seems to be quality more than a lack of willingness to buy.