We had two very different nominations announcements in as many days recently, so let’s try to discern if there is any insight to be gained from these announcements. Although these two voting bodies couldn’t be more different, the commonality is they award more points to players on the waiver wire than on actual teams. This makes it tempting to overreact on the waiver wire, picking up players that really only have value for niche awards such as these. Last year, Adam Levine won Best Original Song for an Animated Film for Paw Patrol: The Movie, but that win didn’t translate to points elsewhere, even though animated films have a strong presence in the SONG category. Can you imagine saying Oscar nominated film Paw Patrol? Of course not. And remember Aleem Khan from last year? He scored a bunch of points for the BIFA’s alone and didn’t have much value anywhere else. Yes, there is value to be had, but it is quite challenging to separate the wheat from the chaff while it’s still early in the regular season.
Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA)
John Williams shut out
It’s probably not worth reading too much into John Williams not getting any points at a nomination announcement that is nearly a census of original scores and songs, but anyone who drafted John Williams should have a backup plan in place. The narrative is still one of the better ones when it gets closer to Oscar time given that he stands to become the oldest nominee in history if his work on The Fabelmans gets recognized. It’s also unclear why he was shut out to begin with. He did get a TV nomination for Obi-Wan Kenobi, but it’s entirely possible that the press team from The Fabelmans didn’t bother submitting anything to the HMMA, saving their resources for their eventual campaign later in the year. Don’t overcorrect just yet, but later this month, take a look at that SCORE/SOUND/SONG/VFX category if you’re a John Williams owner, just in case.
June and Jennifer Gibbons are now HMMA nominated songwriters
What I think is the coolest narrative coming out of the HMMA nominations is the fact that June and Jennifer Gibbons were nominated along side Marcin Macuk and Zuzanna Wronska for their song “We Two Made One” from The Silent Twins. In case you didn’t know, June and Jennifer Gibbons are the real-life twins whom the film is about, played by Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance. After doing some intense Internet searching, I stumble upon an interesting article from six years ago sheds light on why they were given writing credits, but click at your own risk if you haven’t seen the movie. The article contains a poem that serves as the chorus of the original song. This would become a great narrative later in the awards season, but the SONG category, as it is every year, is stacked with competition. However, how cool would it be to say June and Jennifer Gibbons, Oscar nominated songwriters? Don’t go jumping on the waiver wire just yet, though. Wait until the Oscar shortlists come out on December 21 to see if they appear on it.
Some films now confirmed with original songs
We already knew that films like Avatar: The Way of Water would likely have an original song attached to it, even if there were no confirmed details surrounding it. (The only implication here is that Simon Franglen now has SCORE-SONG position designation and has entered the Best Original Song race.) However I, and I assume others as well, was caught by surprise by some of the nominated songwriters and their songs appearing on the list. Do any of these have value going forward? Here are three nominees that caught me by surprise and whether they have fantasy value or not (besides June and Jennifer Gibbons, which caught me the most by surprise.)
- Rita Wilson co-wrote (w/ David Hodges) the song “Til You’re Home” from A Man Called Otto, starring her husband Tom Hanks. I doubt she will register anywhere else, though.
- Lionel Cohen and Stefni Valencia co-wrote “Stand the Test of Time” from Tomorrow’s Game, which is still in post-production. However, this certainly implies this film is slated for a 2022 release. Even so, this isn’t on anyone’s radar, so don’t expect anything else.
- Selena Gomez enters the race, co-writing “My Mind and Me” from her documentary Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me. Granted, due to Red Carpet Rosters rules, any nomination for this song won’t go to Selena Gomez, but will go to the documentary. However it was nice to see that Best Original Song has another contender in a crowded field. Even so, I’m not jumping on the waiver wire just yet.
Neither Nothing Compares nor Moonage Daydream in Best Music Doc
Documentaries in general, let alone music documentaries, are risky commodities, as I’ve written about in an earlier post. If you pulled the trigger on either of these, it might be worth cutting loose and going after something else. It’s pretty rare to see a music documentary gain traction in the precursor awards, but other music documentaries that also have a Song contender have pulled ahead of Nothing Compares and Moonage Daydream. Personally I wouldn’t go after any of them, but if you’re set on having a music doc, the following are suitable replacements: Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song; Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me; The Return of Tanya Tucker; or The Voice of Dust and Ash.
Danny Elfman emerges as a worthy waiver wire target
For composing the score for White Noise, Danny Elfman will likely have future value. It’s too early to tell if anyone else will emerge as a fantasy contributor, but if I had to pick one composer to nab in your league, it’s Danny Elfman.
British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) Nominations
Last Call on Charlotte Wells and Aftersun PIC
If your league has either of these (and I’ve already said to go after them in an earlier post), get on that waiver wire now and pick them up. Charlotte Wells appears poised to be the breakthrough director to own this year (think Maggie Gyllenhaal last year), while Aftersun is a dark horse to break through into the Best Picture race at the Oscars.
Jessie Buckley got bonus points
In my Halloween Horror Movie post, I mentioned that Jessie Buckley will likely get a few bonus points for her leading role in Men, also starring Rory Kinnear. They both scored some points at the BIFA, the first time these bonus points have manifested themselves. The BIFA’s have proven that Jessie Buckley has huge upside and should firmly be in your starting lineup every matchup.
Ignore the technical nominations
The BIFA’s are the first ceremony that awards a lot of technical categories, but I can nearly guarantee that none of them will go on to have any fantasy relevance. No one is looking for, say the VFX from The Feast, to get nominated alongside the VFX from Avatar: The Way of Water or Black Panther: Wakanda Forever or Top Gun: Maverick or…you see where I’m going with this. There are some exceptions, though. Sandy Powell (Living) and Jenny Beavan (Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris) likely have value outside of the BIFA’s for Costume Design. Other than that, I’m not pulling the trigger on any other potential waiver adds just yet.
Any other waiver targets?
In short, not really. Georgia Oakley and Blue Jean scored some points, especially in breakthrough categories, but I don’t think it’s going to be nearly as valuable as Charlotte Wells. Also, Nascondino (Hide and Seek) has scored 8 points already, not bad for a documentary this early in the season. Pursue it at your own risk though.
However, my previous stance for Frankie Corio and Paul Mescal still holds, especially Frankie Corio who stands to score some breakthrough/youth points throughout the season. If Frankie Corio is available in your league, and you’re looking for depth on your roster, go ahead and make a waiver request for her.
Don’t forget that Winners is UK’s official submission to the Oscars
Winners did get some points at the BIFA’s and it is the official submission into the Oscars from the United Kingdom and there are a fair number of British-centric ceremonies (not least of which the BAFTA’s.) All of that just means that we may have a sleeper pick right under our noses with Winners. Personally, I’m not too excited about it, but you could certainly do worse if you’re looking to fill that ANI/INT/DOC slot on your roster.
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