RELEASE DATE: JAN. 4, 2016
Spotlight Wins Best Picture and Original Screenplay for the North Carolina Film Critics
George Miller Earns Best Director for Mad Max: Fury Road
Nominated for five North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA) Awards, Spotlight went on to win three honors, including Best Narrative Film, Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo). It was the only film to earn multiple awards.
George Miller brought the post-apocalyptic world back to life in Mad Max: Fury Road, and was awarded Best Director for those efforts. Michael Fassbender earns his second NCFCA award with Best Acting honors for Steve Jobs. He previously earned a supporting actor win for 12 Years a Slave.
Irish-American Saoirse Ronan brought home the Best Actress award (Brooklyn), while Swedish-born Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina) was awarded with Best Supporting Actress.
Pixar’s Inside Out received Best Animated Picture; Amy won Best Documentary, and Phoenix was selected as Best Foreign Language Film.
NCFCA members actively engage in cinematic evaluation and critical analysis.
This year, the NCFCA honored 12 film categories. The full list of nominations and winners for the fourth annual Best in Cinema Awards can be found below.
BEST NARRATIVE FILM
***Spotlight*** (Winner)
Carol
Inside Out
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
***Amy*** (Winner)
Finders Keepers
Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck
Listen to Me Marlon
The Look of Silence
BEST ANIMATED FILM
***Inside Out*** (Winner)
Anomalisa
The Good Dinosaur
The Peanuts Movie
Shaun the Sheep Movie
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
***Phoenix*** (Winner)
The Assassin
Mustang
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
Son of Saul
BEST DIRECTOR
***George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)*** (Winner)
Lenny Abrahamson (Room)
Todd Haynes (Carol)
Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)
Ridley Scott (The Martian)
BEST ACTOR
***Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)*** (Winner)
Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)
Matt Damon (The Martian)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
Ian McKellen (Mr. Holmes)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
***Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)*** (Winner)
Paul Dano (Love & Mercy)
Benicio del Toro (Sicario)
Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)
Sylvester Stallone (Creed)
BEST ACTRESS
***Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)*** (Winner)
Elizabeth Banks (Love & Mercy)
Cate Blanchett (Carol)
Brie Larson (Room)
Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
***Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)*** (Winner)
Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)
Rooney Mara (Carol)
Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)
Helen Mirren (Trumbo)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
***Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)*** (Winner)
Matt Charman, Ethan Coen, and Joel Coen (Bridge of Spies)
Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, and Josh Cooley (Inside Out)
Alex Garland (Ex Machina)
Quentin Tarantino (The Hateful Eight)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
***Charles Randolph and Adam McKay (The Big Short)*** (Winner)
Emma Donoghue (Room)
Drew Goddard (The Martian)
Phyllis Nagy (Carol)
Nick Hornby (Brooklyn)
Aaron Sorkin (Steve Jobs)
TAR HEEL AWARD
(To an artist or film with a special connection to North Carolina.)
***Ramin Bahrani (99 Homes)*** (Winner)
Finders Keepers
Peyton Reed (Ant-Man)
Films with Multiple Wins
Spotlight – 3
Films with Multiple Nominations
Carol – 5
Spotlight – 5
The Martian – 4
Inside Out – 3
Room – 3
Bridge of Spies – 2
Brooklyn – 2
Ex Machina – 2
The Hateful Eight – 2
Love and Mercy – 2
Mad Max: Fury Road – 2
Steve Jobs – 2
Trumbo – 2
*Most Nominations without a Win:
Carol – 5
Additional Notes:
This was Cate Blanchett’s second nomination. She previously won for Best Actress for Blue Jasmine.
This is also the second nomination for the Coen Brothers. They previously were selected for work on Inside Llewyn Davis.
Inside Out became the first animated film to receive a nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
About the NCFCA
The North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA) was formed by Kenneth R. Morefield in 2012 to promote film journalism in North Carolina. Membership consists of film critics/journalists established in North Carolina or those serving North Carolina-based outlets.
