With three months to go until the big night, the race to the 2021 Oscars is starting to pick up.
The National Board of Review on Tuesday selected Da 5 Bloods, Spike Lee's Netflix film about Vietnam War veterans, as Best Film, also giving Lee the award for Best Director. The film additionally was awarded Best Ensemble.
The National Board of Review includes academics and filmmakers, and its best film pick is one of numerous honors to be handed out in the lead-up to the Academy Awards every year. The winner hasn't recently tended to go on to win the Best Picture Oscar, though it has on occasion as with Green Book, and Variety notes it at least usually scores a nomination.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But in general, The Washington Post's Steven Zeitchik wrote that Da 5 Bloods has been "gathering force" as a potential Best Picture winner recently, something this nod "will only help." The National Board of Review also picked Sound of Metal's Riz Ahmed for Best Actor and Promising Young Woman's Carey Mulligan for Best Actress, both of whom are likely to earn Oscar nominations.
These wins were unveiled on Tuesday after the nominations for this year's Film Independent Spirit Awards, which recognize smaller movies, were also announced. Never Rarely Sometimes Always led there with an impressive seven nominations. Minari and Nomadland also scored six and five Spirit Award nominations, respectively, and both films are thought to be possible Best Picture Oscar winners.
While the Oscars won't be held until April this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we'll get another indication of how the award season is shaping up when the Golden Globe nominations are announced on Feb. 3.
-
September 15 editorial cartoonsCartoons Monday’s political cartoons include publisher advice for Kamala Harris, the radicalization pipeline, and flu season guidelines
-
Will Donald Trump’s second state visit be a diplomatic disaster?Today's Big Question Charlie Kirk shooting, Saturday’s far-right rally and continued Jeffrey Epstein fallout ramps-up risks of already fraught trip
-
England’s ‘dysfunctional’ children’s care systemIn the Spotlight A new report reveals that protection of youngsters in care in England is failing in a profit-chasing sector
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
