LGBTQ Critics Announce Film and TV Dorian Award Nominations
GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, comprised of 260 mainly U.S. journalists covering film and television, has named its nominees for 2019's finest movies, performances and more across a host of mainstream and LGBTQ-focused categories.
"International" films lead the pack: South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite" — the left-field hit satire comparing the lives of the rich and the poor — and the French lesbian romance "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" each counts six nominations, while director Pedro Almodovar's semi-autobiographical opus "Pain and Glory" has five nods. Those films join "Hustlers," "Little Women," and director Quentin Tarantino's florid alternate-reality trip "Once Upon a Time in ... Hollywood" on the group's eclectic, diverse Film of the Year short list.
"It's a true testament to the rising impact of global films — and the ability of film to move us in any language — to see films from a variety of countries rank so highly with our Dorian Awards voters," says GALECA President Diane Anderson-Minshall, Editorial Director of The Advocate. "We're proud to help remind everyone that the world can connect through cinema."
For Director of the Year, Bong competes with the likes of Sam Mendes, helmer of the stunning World War I epic "1917," and Women director Greta Gerwig, a previous Dorian winner in the category for "Lady Bird."
Renée Zellweger ("Judy"), Lupita Nyong'o ("Us"), and Alfre Woodard ("Clemency") add excitement to the award season race with their nominations for Film Performance of the Year — Actress nominations, while fresh faces Florence Pugh ("Little Women") and Zhao Shuzen ("The Farewell") perk up the respective Supporting category. As for the Actor categories, they're peppered with notable surnames: Banderas, Driver and Sandler; Pitt, Pesci and Pacino.
Among the professional LGBTQ journalists group's trademark categories, "Booksmart" and "The Last Black Man in San Francisco" are among the contenders for Unsung Film of the Year, while "Cats" and the cheeky, crazy-popular murder mystery "Knives Out" duke it out for Campy Flick of the Year
With the Society's recent move to spin off its television categories with a separate ceremony starting this August, the Dorians' TV categories came with a somewhat truncated eligibility window of January 1 through November 1.
"We want the work and power of LGBTQ entertainment journalists to be as recognized and visible as possible, and having our Dorians gradually mirror the Emmys' calendar and the traditional TV season is a part of that effort," said John Griffiths, GALECA's founder and Executive Director. TV programs that premiered in the remainder of 2019 will be eligible for autumn's first television-centric Dorian Awards.
HBO's acerbic rich-family soap "Succession," Netflix's searing and female-centric mystery "Unbelievable," and last year's multi-winner "Pose," all up for TV Drama of the Year, with Hulu's high-school friendship spoof "PEN15" and Comedy Central's tart "The Other Two" making nice-surprise showings in the comedy arena. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, star-creator of the also-nominated comedy Fleabag star-creator, is up for three Dorians, including TV Performance of the Year — Actress and Wilde Wit of the Year.
The starriest contenders for GALECA's sole music award, the TV Musical Performance of the Year, are Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga for their rendition of "Shallow" at last year's Academy Awards, and Lizzo for belting out "Truth Hurts" at the VMAs.
All Dorian Award Winners, including the recipient of the Society's annual Timeless career-achievement award, will be revealed Wednesday, January 8.
As previously announced, Olivia Wilde, the first-time director of "Booksmart," will be receiving a special honor at the group's Dorian Awards Winners Toast, which will be held on Sunday, February 2, in Los Angeles, before football fever kicks in. The invitation-only event will include a raise of the glass to Wilde, named GALECA's Wilde Artist of the Year. It bears noting that the acclaimed "Booksmart"'s stars, Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever, each hold a Dorian nomination for GALECA's "We're Wilde About You!" Rising Star award.
GALECA, a member of CGEM: Critics Groups for Equality in Media, aims to generate camaraderie and solidarity in an unsettling media environment, champion constructive film and television criticism and elevate the craft of entertainment journalism. Via panels, screenings and our annual Dorian Awards, GALECA also strives to remind at-risk youth, bullies and bigots that the world looks to the Q eye for leads on great, unique movies and TV. And how would the world fare without knowing what's campy?
FULL LIST OF 11TH DORIAN AWARDS NOMINATIONS
(Note: Categories with six or more contenders involve a tie)
Film of the Year
Hustlers
Little Women
Once Upon a Time in ... Hollywood
Pain and Glory
Parasite
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Director of the Year
Pedro Almodovar, Pain and Glory
Greta Gerwig, Little Women
Bong Joon-ho, Parasite
Sam Mendes, 1917
Celine Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Film Performance of the Year — Actress
Awkwafina, The Farewell
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Lupita Nyong'o, Us
Alfre Woodard, Clemency
Renée Zellweger, Judy
Film Performance of the Year — Actor
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Taron Egerton, Rocketman
Film Performance of the Year — Supporting Actress
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Florence Pugh, Little Women
Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell
Film Performance of the Year — Supporting Actor
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in ... Hollywood
Song Kang-ho, Parasite
LGBTQ Film of the Year
Booksmart
End of the Century
Pain and Glory
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Rocketman
Foreign Language Film of the Year
The Atlantics
Pain and Glory
Parasite
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
The Farewell
Screenplay of the Year
Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
Bong Joon-ho, Han Jin-won, Parasite
Greta Gerwig, Little Women
Céline Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Rian Johnson, Knives Out
Documentary of the Year
American Factory
Apollo 11
For Sama
Honeyland
One Child Nation
LGBTQ Documentary of the Year
Circus of Books
Gay Chorus Deep South
The Gospel of Eureka
5B
Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street
Visually Striking Film of the Year
Midsommar
1917
The Lighthouse
Parasite
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Unsung Film of the Year
Booksmart
Her Smell
Gloria Bell
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Waves
Campy Flick of the Year
Cats
Greta
Knives Out
Ma
Serenity
TV Drama of the Year
Chernobyl
Euphoria
Pose
Succession
Unbelievable
TV Comedy of the Year
Fleabag
The Other Two
PEN15
Russian Doll
Schitt's Creek
TV Performance of the Year — Actor
Bill Hader, Barry
Dan Levy, Schitt's Creek
Jharrel Jerome, When They See Us
Billy Porter, Pose
Jeremy Strong, Succession
TV Performance of the Year — Actress
Natasha Lyonne, Russian Doll
Catherine O'Hara, Schitt's Creek
Mj Rodriguez, Pose
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag
Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon
LGBTQ TV Show of the Year
Euphoria
The Other Two
Pose
Schitt's Creek
Tales of the City
Unsung TV Show of the Year
Gentleman Jack
On Becoming a God in Central Florida
The Other Two
PEN15
Years and Years
TV Current Affairs Show of the Year
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
The Rachel Maddow Show
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Leaving Neverland
TV Musical Performance of the Year
Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, "Shallow," The 91st Academy Awards
Lizzo, "Truth Hurts," VMAs 2019
Megan Mullally, "The Man That Got Way," Will & Grace
Annie Murphy, "A Little Bit Alexis," Schitt's Creek
Michelle Williams, "Who's Got the Pain?," Fosse/Verdon
Campy TV Show of the Year
American Horror Story 1984
Big Little Lies
RuPaul's Drag Race
The Politician
Riverdale
The "We're Wilde About You!" Rising Star Award
Roman Griffin Davis
Kaitlyn Dever
Beanie Feldstein
Florence Pugh
Hunter Schafer
Wilde Wit of the Year
(Honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)
Dan Levy
Billy Porter
Randy Rainbow
Taika Waititi
Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Wilde Artist of the Decade (Special Accolade)
Lady Gaga
Greta Gerwig
Ryan Murphy
Billy Porter
Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Support GALECA.org The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics by admiring us on Instagram @Dorian_Awards and on Twitter and Facebook @DorianAwards
Also in Entertainment