2015 Denver Film Critics Society Awards Nominations Announced - "Mad Max," "The Revenant," "Spotlight," and more

Yesterday, I shared my ballot for the nomination process in the 2015 Denver Film Critics Society Awards, and today we announced the group’s final set of nominees, led by strong support for films like Room, Mad Max: Fury Road, Spotlight, and especially The Revenant, which I have yet to catch up with, but which our group absolutely flipped for. I can’t wait to check it out, though there are still plenty of great nominees throughout to choose from. Compared to years past, I was fairly out of step with my colleagues here – in many of the major categories, only one or two of my personal choices got in – but most everything that got nominated was stuff I really enjoy and absolutely considered, so I think this a pretty healthy group of nominees, and I’m glad that they reflect the weird mixture of greatness was 2015, with our Best Picture group including a Pixar film, an action masterpiece, a gritty historical epic, and two very personal-scale dramas. Very interesting all around.

So continue reading after the jump to take a look at all the nominees, along with notes on where my personal votes will be going.

Best Picture:

Room
Spotlight
Mad Max: Fury Road
Inside Out
The Revenant

My vote – Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Director:

George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
Ridley Scott, The Martian
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, The Revenant
Lenny Abrahamson, Room

My vote – George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Actor:

Matt Damon, The Martian
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Will Smith, Concussion
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

My vote – Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs

Best Actress:

Brie Larson, Room
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

My vote – Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

Best Supporting Actor:

Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
Sylvester Stallone, Creed

My vote – Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Best Supporting Actress:

Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Elizabeth Banks, Love and Mercy
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight

My vote – Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina

Best Animated Film:

Inside Out

Anomalisa

The Peanuts Movie

Shaun the Sheep Movie

The Good Dinosaur

My vote – Inside Out

Best Science Fiction/Horror Film:

Ex Machina
The Martian
It Follows
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Mad Max: Fury Road

My vote – Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Comedy:

Joy
What We Do in the Shadows
The Big Short

Trainwreck
Inside Out

My vote – What We Do in the Shadows

Best Original Screenplay:

Pete Docter, Josh Cooley and Meg LeFauve, Inside Out
Alex Garland, Ex Machina
Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer, Spotlight
Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight
Amy Schumer, Trainwreck

My vote - Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Emma Donoghue, Room
Nick Hornby, Brooklyn
Adam McKay, Charles Randolph, The Big Short
Aaron Sorkin, Steve Jobs
Drew Goddard, The Martian

My vote – Aaron Sorkin, Steve Jobs

Best Documentary:

Listen to Me Marlon

Cartel Land

Amy

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

The Look of Silence

My vote – The Look of Silence

Best Visual Effects:

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The Walk

Mad Max: Fury Road

Ex Machina

The Martian

My vote – The Walk

Best Original Song:

Wiz Khalifa, “See You Again,” Furious 7
Sam Smith, “Writing’s on the Wall,” Spectre
Lady Gaga, “Til It Happens to You,” The Hunting Ground
Tim Wheeler, “Feels Like Summer,” Shaun the Sheep Movie
Sumi Jo, “Simple Song #3,” Youth

My vote - Wiz Khalifa, “See You Again,” Furious 7

Best Score:

Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
John Williams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Bryce Dessner, Carsten Nicolai and Ryuichi Sakamoto, The Revenant
Howard Shore, Spotlight
Tom Holkenborg AKA Junkie XL, Mad Max: Fury Road

My vote - John Williams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens 

Best Foreign Language Film:

Son of Saul

The Fencer

The Assassin

Taxi

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

Visit the Denver Film Critics Society online at www.denverfilmcritics.org