News

The National Board of Review has announced its 2015 winners and George Miller's "Mad Max: Fury Road" took the top prize of Best Film of the year although Ridley Scott won best director for "The Martian" with Matt Damon winning the best actor trophy.

I love that Brie Larson from "Room" won the best actress award and yay for Sylvester Stallone! He won the best supporting actor award for "Creed!" Completing the acting awards is Jennifer Jason Leigh for best supporting actress for Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight."

In case you're wondering, members of the National Board of Review (select group of film enthusiasts, filmmakers, professionals, academics, and students) watched over 250 films (studio, independent, foreign-language, animated, and documentary) and the screenings "were frequently followed by in-depth discussions with directors, actors, producers, and screenwriters. Voting ballots were tabulated by the accounting firm of Lutz and Carr, Llp."

So there you have it.

The National Board of Review has named Mad Max: Fury Road the 2015 Best Film of the Year.

Below is the complete list of awards:

Best Film: Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Director: Ridley Scott – The Martian

Best Actor: Matt Damon – The Martian

Best Actress: Brie Larson – Room

Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone – Creed

Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight

Best Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino – The Hateful Eight

Best Adapted Screenplay: Drew Goddard – The Martian

Best Animated Feature: Inside Out

Breakthrough Performance: Abraham Attah – Beasts of No Nation & Jacob Tremblay – Room

Best Directorial Debut: Jonas Carpignano – Mediterranea

Best Foreign Language Film: Son of Saul

Best Documentary: Amy

William K. Everson Film History Award: Cecilia De Mille Presley

Best Ensemble: The Big Short

Spotlight Award: Sicario for Outstanding Collaborative Vision

Nbr Freedom of Expression Award: Beasts of No Nation & Mustang

Top Films

Bridge of Spies

Creed

The Hateful Eight...

The National Board of Review is known for its eclectic decisions comes awards season, handing unconventional choices its top honors year after year. But this year's selection of best film may truly be the organization's boldest pick yet.

"Mad Max: Fury Road" landed Nbr's best film distinction for 2015, beating out more high-profile (and more conventional) candidates like "Spotlight," "Carol," "Room," "Joy," "The Revenant," and "The Martian." All those flicks have been in the Oscar conversation for months, but not many expected "Fury Road" to get much awards season love, despite critical and audience adoration.

And that may not change, either. Last year, the Nbr awarded its best film prize to "A Most Violent Year," which was completely shut out of the Academy Awards nominations. It's also hailed a bunch of Oscar also-rans in the past, including Best Picture nominees (and losers) "Her" (2013), "Zero Dark Thirty" (2012), "Hugo" (2011), "The Social Network" (2010), and...

Awards season has officially kicked off today with The National Board of Review naming their top picks for 2015. There choice for Best Film is a rather interesting one, proclaiming George Miller’s adrenaline-fueled (and critically-acclaimed) action opus “Mad Max: Fury Road” to be the best of the best. Why is that an interesting choice? For one, action films are not usually the prime go-to movies for critics when it comes time to name the best of the year, but what’s more is that it’s the only award the group gave it. Meanwhile they showered much more attention on Sir Ridley Scott’s sci-fi drama “The Martian,” giving it Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Quentin Tarantino’s latest, “The Hateful Eight,” is also looking in good shape for the coming award season, claiming Best Original Screenplay for the man himself and Best Supporting Actress for Jennifer Jason Leigh.

What a lovely day! The National Board of Review have unveiled their 2015 winners and Mad Max: Fury Road has come out on top, having been named the Best Film of the year, while Ridley Scott nabbed Best Director. Nbr President Annie Schulhof said, “2015 has been a banner year for popular cinema. We are thrilled to be awarding George Miller and Ridley Scott, two iconic filmmakers at the top of their game, while also celebrating the next generation of talent.”

For those unfamiliar with the organization, “for 106 years, the National Board of Review has dedicated its efforts to the support of domestic and foreign cinema as both art and entertainment. This year, over 250 films (studio, independent, foreign-language, animated, and documentary) were viewed by this select group of film enthusiasts, filmmakers, professionals, academics, and students.”

The Hateful Eight, while still under embargo, picked up two awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best...

Spotlight, Carol shut out by National Board Of Review. Son Of Saul named best foreign-language film.

The National Board Of Review unveiled its awards selections on Tuesday with Mad Max: Fury Road landing the main prize, Best Film Of The Year.

Ridley Scott has been named best director for The Martian, Matt Damon best actor and Brie Larson best actress for Room.

Besides Damon and Larson, there was acting recognition for Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Jason Leigh in supporting roles for Creed and The Hateful Eight, respectively.

Abraham Attah from Beasts Of No Nation and Jacob Tremblay for Room split the Breakthrough Performance vote with two of the most acclaimed performances of the season.

Best Original Screenplay honours have gone to Quentin Tarantino for The Hateful Eight while Drew Goddard won Best Adapted Screenplay for The Martian.

Son Of Saul earned best foreign-language film honours, Inside Out best animation prize and Amy best documentary.

Jonas Carpignano emerged...

I’m happy to present a survey of recently published film and show-business-related books in order to spread the word, especially during this gift-giving season. These are not reviews, as I’ve only had time for a quick skim, but I feel confident that all of the following are worth your time and money. And yes, there are more to come…so stay tuned. Cecil B. DeMille: The Art Of The Hollywood Epic by Cecilia de Mille Presley and Mark A. Vieira; introduction by Martin Scorsese; foreword by Brett Ratner (Running Press) This lavishly produced book is worthy of its subject: a giant volume celebrating the work of a man who looms over film history, larger than life. Historian and photographer...

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