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THE NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW TO ANNOUNCE HONOREES TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

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New York, NY (May 29, 2019) – The National Board of Review announced today that it will release its 2019 honorees on Tuesday, December 3, 2019. The gala to celebrate this year’s group of lauded filmmakers will take place on Wednesday, January 8, 2020. The celebration will be held at Cipriani’s 42nd Street in New York City, where it has taken place for over a decade. NBC News and MSNBC’s Willie Geist will return to host the evening.

The National Board of Review’s awards celebrate excellence in filmmaking with categories that include Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Actress, Best Original and Adapted Screenplay, Best Foreign Language, Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Performance, and Directorial Debut as well as signature honors such as the Spotlight Award, Freedom of Expression and the William K. Everson Film History Award.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW
Since 1909 the National Board of Review has dedicated its efforts to the support of cinema as both art and entertainment. Each year, this select group of film enthusiasts, filmmakers, professionals and academics of varying ages and backgrounds watches over 250 films and participates in illuminating discussions with directors, actors, producers and screenwriters before announcing their selections for the best work of the year in early December prior to an annual ceremony in January. Since first citing year-end cinematic achievements in 1929, NBR has recognized a vast selection of outstanding studio, independent, foreign-language, animated and documentary films, often propelling recipients into the larger awards conversation. NBR also stands out as the only film organization that bestows a film history award in honor of former member and film historian William K. Everson. In addition, one of the organization’s core values is identifying new talent and nurturing young filmmakers by awarding promising talent with ‘Directorial Debut’ and ‘Breakthrough Actor’ awards as well as grants to rising film students and by facilitating community outreach through the support of organizations such as The Ghetto Film School, Reel Works Teen Filmmaking, and Educational Video Center. With its continued efforts to assist up-and-coming artists in completing and presenting their work, NBR honors its commitment to not just identifying the best that current cinema has to offer, but also ensuring the quality of films for future generations to come.

Join the conversation @NBRfilm

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Press Contacts:  
SLATE PR  Shawn Purdy / Rachael Trager
(212) 235-6813
shawn@slate-pr.com / rachael@slate-pr.com

Q&A with Olivia Wilde, Katie Silberman, and Jessica Elbaum

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The following questions and answers are excerpted from a conversation that followed the NBR screening of Booksmart.

Katie, you’ve taken a script that had been around for several years and made it feel brand new. That must be a huge challenge — what was your approach?
Katie Silberman: We talked a lot about what made us love the classic high school movies, and what made us want to make movies like that. And we talked about how the best ones are very timely — they’re very specific to the generation that they’re reflecting — and when you watch one, it’s not too specific, but you think to yourself, “oh that’s what it was like to be a teen in the ’80’s, or ’90’s, or ’00’s,” and they’re also timeless in terms of the story that they’re telling, and the humanity, and the character arcs, and all of that. And so much has changed for young women in the last 5-10 years since the script was originally written, in terms of what young women are facing and in terms of how much they’ve had to step into the role of personal activist — of being in charge of themselves and fighting for themselves. As we were developing it and thinking about it, it was a time when not only did we have more access, probably, to first-person perspectives of teenage life than ever before (since everyone puts themselves out in to the world on social media), but it was also when the Parkland students were organizing the March for Our Lives. They were so publicly active and inspiring to us, and we were so inspired by that generation, that it was about trying to reflect in the script what it’s like for these young people who are so brave, and courageous, and smart, and progressive and inspire us in so many ways. Because we were being inspired by them, on a daily basis, in real life. And it was about acknowledging in movies and in real life that it took so long for women to understand that they could be taken seriously… and then the next step is then acknowledging the multi-dimensionality of female characters, that you can be serious and fun. That you can be a lot of different things now, when in the past you’ve been reaching just to be taken seriously at all.

Part of being a director is learning how to fight for your ideas

Olivia Wilde: Katie originated the idea that the other students who Molly and Amy had assumed were sort just party animals were actually also going to great schools. That was in her first pitch: what if the other kids are also really smart? That is the crux of the film — that is the premise. Which proves that it’s possible, when doing a re-write, to maintain the heart and soul of an original idea while also restructuring the premise entirely… and by so doing, to elevate it. I found that to be really fascinating, to observe the evolution to bring the story to the level you see on the screen. Jessica and I were astounded: we knew it was brilliant. Then Katie proposed that there be three different parties, and making it a night of graduation parties. And that allows them to go on an adventure, and then it’s the Wizard of Oz, and they can learn about themselves in this different way. It was just incredible to see how she took the same piece of material I’d been staring at for so long and unlock the story completely.

Jessica, from your perspective as a producer, what was your impression after the version of the story Katie pitched?
Jessica Elbaum: It just clicked. From Olivia pitching — and I should tell you, she pitched it as Training Day, basically, as a buddy cop movie… because as we all know, high school is basically going to war — so from the time Olivia pitched it and had such clarity and conviction, I felt so safe with her, and that lead to Katie, and Katie pitched it, and sort of reinvented and reinvigorated the soul of the story in a way that we both loved. For me, as a producer, all you want is to be lucky enough to make choices that make you feel safe. And I have just never felt as safe with two filmmakers in my career. For me, it was just a dream come true. When you feel that confident, the answer to everything they pitched was always, “yes, of course, we can make that happen,” because every idea was better than the last. You just want them to keep going!

There are several scenes in this film that are incredibly risky. They elevate the film and work beautifully, but they must have been hard to get on the screen, no? I’m thinking specifically of the Barbie scene, the dance number, the pool scene, and maybe even the pizza guy scene.

OW: Part of being a director is learning how to fight for your ideas. You have to get really good at clear communication. You have to be able to illustrate your vision very clearly. You can’t complain about people not seeing it if you’re not really describing it well. So I fought hard for those sequences because I could see them very clearly in my head, and I learned through the process that it’s really about making sure that you’re explaining why they’re necessary within the larger narrative. Why it’s worth the investment and the time. And, you know, on the page the Barbie trip does not seem like an essential part of the production, so I had to fight for it. But we made it work, and it starts to be a strategy: you take money from somewhere else, and you say, “I have the money to do it, don’t worry, we’ll do all the work, just let me do it.” And to their credit, they let it happen, but yeah… I had to fight for it. And I feel good about earning those scenes and continuing to fight for them, and I’m really happy they’re still in the movie, but anyone making a film should know: just because someone pushes back, it’s not inherently unfair. As long as when you make your case clearly, and effectively, that then you are permitted to do what you want. But you’re going to be forced to fight for those things, and that’s worth it.

THE NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW SETS ANNUAL AWARDS GALA FOR WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020

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NBC NEWS & MSNBC’S WILLIE GEIST TO RETURN AS HOST FOR SIXTH YEAR IN A ROW

New York, NY (March 20, 2019) – The National Board of Review announced today that its annual film awards gala will take place Wednesday, January 8th, 2020, with NBC News & MSNBC’s Willie Geist returning as host for the sixth year in a row. The celebration will be held at Cipriani 42ndStreet in New York City, where it has taken place for over a decade. 

The National Board of Review’s awards celebrate excellence in filmmaking with categories that include Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Actress, Best Original and Adapted Screenplay, Breakthrough Performance, and Directorial Debut, as well as signature honors such as the Freedom of Expression, Spotlight Award, and the William K. Everson Film History Award.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW
Since 1909 the National Board of Review has dedicated its efforts to the support of cinema as both art and entertainment. Each year, this select group of film enthusiasts, filmmakers, professionals and academics of varying ages and backgrounds watches over 250 films and participates in illuminating discussions with directors, actors, producers and screenwriters before announcing their selections for the best work of the year.  Since first citing year-end cinematic achievements in 1929, NBR has recognized a vast selection of outstanding studio, independent, foreign-language, animated and documentary films, often propelling recipients such as George Miller’s visionary 2015 Best Film winner Mad Max: Fury Road into the larger awards conversation. NBR also stands out as the only film organization that bestows a film history award in honor of former member and film historian William K. Everson. In addition, one of the organization’s core values is identifying new talent and nurturing young filmmakers by awarding promising talent with ‘Directorial Debut’ and ‘Breakthrough Actor’ awards as well as grants to rising film students and by facilitating community outreach through the support of organizations such as The Ghetto Film School, Reel Works Teen Filmmaking, and Educational Video Center. With its continued efforts to assist up-and-coming artists in completing and presenting their work, NBR honors its commitment to not just identifying the best that current cinema has to offer, but also ensuring the quality of films for future generations to come.

Join the conversation @NBRfilm

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Contacts:
Shawn Purdy / Rachael Trager 
SLATE PR
(212) 235-6814
shawn@slate-pr.com/ rachael@slate-pr.com

NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW ANNOUNCES 2018 AWARD WINNERS

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THE NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW NAMES 2018 HONOREES
INCLUDING
GREEN BOOK FOR BEST FILM OF THE YEAR
&
BRADLEY COOPER FOR BEST DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

The Organization’s Gala will be held on Tuesday, January 8, 2019 in New York City

New York, NY (November 27, 2018) – The National Board of Review today announced their 2018 honorees, with top awards including Green Book as Best Film of the Year, Bradley Cooper as Best Director of the Year for A Star is Born, Viggo Mortensen as Best Actor of the Year for his performance in Green Book, and Lady Gaga as Best Actress of the Year for her performance in A Star is Born.

NBR President Annie Schulhof said, “We are proud to honor Green Book as our best film – it is a warm and heartfelt look at a remarkable friendship, brought to the screen at a moment where its story of love, compassion, and shared humanity deeply resonates. We are also thrilled to award Bradley Cooper as our best director – he is an extraordinary talent behind the camera, bringing a fresh and modern perspective, as well as superb craftsmanship and tremendous heart, to the classic story of A Star is Born.”

The 2018 awards continue the NBR’s tradition of recognizing excellence in filmmaking, going back 109 years. This year 261 films were viewed by this select group of film enthusiasts, filmmakers, professionals, academics, and students, many of which were followed by in-depth discussions with directors, actors, producers, and screenwriters. Voting ballots were tabulated by the accounting firm of Lutz & Carr, LLP.

The National Board of Review’s awards celebrate the art of cinema, with categories that include Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Actress, Best Original and Adapted Screenplay, Breakthrough Performance, and Directorial Debut, as well as signature honors such as Freedom of Expression and the William K. Everson Film History Award.

The honorees will be feted at the NBR Awards Gala, hosted by Willie Geist, on Tuesday, January 8, 2019 at Cipriani 42nd Street. To request credentials to the evening’s red carpet, please fill out the application here by December 28, 2018.

Below is a full list of the 2018 award recipients, announced by the National Board of Review:

Best Film: GREEN BOOK
Best Director: Bradley Cooper, A STAR IS BORN
Best Actor: Viggo Mortensen, GREEN BOOK
Best Actress: Lady Gaga, A STAR IS BORN
Best Supporting Actor: Sam Elliott, A STAR IS BORN
Best Supporting Actress: Regina King, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Best Original Screenplay: Paul Schrader, FIRST REFORMED
Best Adapted Screenplay: Barry Jenkins, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Best Animated Feature: INCREDIBLES 2
Breakthrough Performance: Thomasin McKenzie, LEAVE NO TRACE
Best Directorial Debut: Bo Burnham, EIGHTH GRADE
Best Foreign Language Film: COLD WAR
Best Documentary: RBG
Best Ensemble: CRAZY RICH ASIANS
William K. Everson Film History Award: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND and THEY’LL LOVE ME WHEN I’M DEAD
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: 22 JULY
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: ON HER SHOULDERS

Top Films (in alphabetical order)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Black Panther
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Eighth Grade
First Reformed
If Beale Street Could Talk
Mary Poppins Returns
A Quiet Place
Roma
A Star Is Born

Top 5 Foreign Language Films (in alphabetical order)
Burning
Custody
The Guilty
Happy as Lazzaro
Shoplifters

Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order)
Crime + Punishment
Free Solo
Minding the Gap
Three Identical Strangers
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order)
The Death of Stalin
Lean on Pete
Leave No Trace
Mid90s
The Old Man & the Gun
The Rider
Searching
Sorry to Bother You
We the Animals
You Were Never Really Here

 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW For 109 years, the National Board of Review has dedicated its efforts to the support of cinema as both art and entertainment. Each year, this select group of film enthusiasts, filmmakers, professionals and academics of varying ages and backgrounds watches over 250 films and participates in illuminating discussions with directors, actors, producers and screenwriters before announcing their selections for the best work of the year. Since first citing year-end cinematic achievements in 1929, NBR has recognized a vast selection of outstanding studio, independent, foreign-language, animated and documentary films, often propelling recipients such as George Miller’s visionary 2015 Best Film winner Mad Max: Fury Road into the larger awards conversation. NBR also stands out as the only film organization that bestows a film history award in honor of former member and film historian William K. Everson. In addition, one of the organization’s core values is identifying new talent and nurturing young filmmakers by awarding promising talent with ‘Directorial Debut’ and ‘Breakthrough Actor’ awards as well as grants to rising film students and by facilitating community outreach through the support of organizations such as The Ghetto Film School, Reel Works Teen Filmmaking, and Educational Video Center. With its continued efforts to assist up-and-coming artists in completing and presenting their work, NBR honors its commitment to not just identifying the best that current cinema has to offer, but also ensuring the quality of films for future generations to come.

Join the conversation @NBRfilm

Contacts:
Andy Gelb / Shawn Purdy/ Rachael Trager
SLATE PR
(212) 235-6814
andy@slate-pr.com / shawn@slate-pr.com / rachael@slate-pr.com

Q&A with Alfonso Cuarón, Yalitza Aparicio, and Marina de Tavira

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The following questions and answers are excerpted from a conversation that followed the NBR screening of Roma.

Can you talk about the experience acting in the film?
Marina De Tavira: When Alfonso invited us…when we finished the long casting process he said that it was a film about life itself. We wouldn’t have a script, and we will be learning everyday what was going to happen with the characters. We were going to work in a completely different way. It was thrilling, fascinating, challenging and a strong transformative experience as an actress, but also as a woman. The way he would deliver the information about the scenes would be separate. He would talk to every actor alone, and then he would put on the scene. We were always dealing with the unexpected and surprises.
Alfonso Cuarón: It was all shot in chronology. It’s not as irresponsible as it sounds.
MT: There was a script. But, the way he gave it to us was incredible.

“it was this idea of not having a safety net.”

Yalitza, can you talk about your experience being a non-actor in the film?
Yalitza Esparicio: I didn’t have a clue who Alfonso was. I even felt some fear, because I thought it could be women trafficking of something like that. I felt some fear. But, as soon as he asked me if I wanted to be a part of the project I said absolutely yes. It was more the excitement of seeing how films were made. The first day it helped that he took me from the easiest things to the more complicated things. I thought to myself that I could do this. After a while I regretted it again, but at first I didn’t. I trusted all the way.
AC: I just would like to say that one week into the process Yalitza knew way more about film making than all of us.

Alfonso, you were director, producer, writer, DP, etc. How was it possible to do so many jobs for such a massive film?
AC: It was the conscious process of saying that I’m going to do a film without a safety net. It’s the kind of stuff that I always dream of doing. I talk about doing this sort of thing all the time with Chivo. I designed this film for Chivo…to have all these days, because he always complains about time. It’s the longest post production of image that we have done with technicolor. It became impossible for Chivo, because of his other commitments. But, it was this idea of not having a safety net. I wrote the script, and it was the first impulse. I didn’t want to revise the script. Everything had to come from memory. I said before that if I have shown this script to Guillermo Del Toro or Alejandro Innaritu or Carlos, my brother, they would have turned it into a better script technically in terms of the plot. I didn’t want to be concerned about that. I ended up being cinematographer, because Chivo couldn’t do it. It was not by choice. Being outside of the comfort zone was a process for everyone. It was for Marina. It was for Yalitza. It was also for the crew, because they were not used to working the way that we were working. I think that was the part of the alchemy of what happened.

I have to ask about the taxidermy dog room. What’s going on there?
AC: I slept in that room when I was a child. The decision with the film was also to shoot in the places where this actually took place. The house was impossible, because the new owners had completely changed it. We took exact measurements, and we reproduced the house in the shell of another house that had exactly the same structure. We bought in the original materials. Most of the furniture is original. One thing was to shoot in the hacienda. The hacienda was not in the good state, and we had to redo floors and stuff. But, the thing is that I really slept in that room. As a child you didn’t question it. You have all these dogs with marble eyes over there on top of the bunk bed. You didn’t think twice about it. Now I find it horrific.