I'll be sending mine soon, but unfortunately it will be empty too.

I had hoped for more nominations for these films from you. Still glad they got something, and let's face it, 5 nominations for Blackhat is more than anyone would expect. But CHAPPiE with only two, is sad.

Crimson Peak with 9 is just insane.

David-

Mr. Holmes didn't get a single vote from you? McKellen was fantastic in that.

I enjoyed Mr. Holmes a lot, but McKellen fell a hair short of my best-actor top five.

Correct me if I'm wrong, David, but I usually get the impression that you only vote for movies that you generally like a lot/love, even in categories in which that matters less. Meaning that if a movie has great art direction or great makeup or great visual effects (you name it), but you did not like the film itself, you will not vote for it. I remember when you didn't nominate Gravity for its effects because you didn't like the film, which struck me as weird.

Largely true. For me, technical achievement in the service of a film I enjoy or love trumps technical achievement in service of a film I do not enjoy.

This year, for example, Child 44 objectively has nice costumes and sets, but it is not hard for me to list five films I did not hate which also have objectively nice costumes and sets.

I think that is a wrong approach. Obviously just my opinion, but I think this sort of thinking also reflects within, say, the Academy and is the reason why something like Crismon Peak gets ridiculously overlooked for Costumes and Set Design. We should be better than them.

Three of my costume-design nominees are from films I nominated for best picture, two are not. I feel completely fine with my choices, and none of the top three (Crimson Peak, for example, or Far Madding Crowd) are undeserving of costume recognition or simply swept along. Not in my opinion.

Anyway, I believe I nominated 45 individual films overall, so I am hardly the source of any group-think or overt insularity.

But you get my point, right?

Yes. In your perfect world, every person would consider every category in an absolute vacuum.

As I do, yes. There are years in which I'd award someone Best Director, without their film even being among the year's five best.

I just cannot relate. I find it odd to admire "direction" (however it is defined apart from cinematography, editing, acting, etc.) separately from your response to the film directed. Other categories lend themselves more to the vacuum, such as original score or art direction.

My picture and director choices are not 1:1, but every director I chose made a film on my top ten.

I didn't say I don't like their films, they just don't end up among my Top 5.

A good example for me is There Will Be Blood. Paul Thomas Anderson's direction is the best of 2007 to me, but the film itself just didn't click well enough to put it in the Top 5, but it may very well be in the Top 10.

So, in plain terms, if I was handing out the Oscars, there would rarely ever be a year in which one film would win more than 3-4 awards, because usually I find it hard to believe that one single film excels in many many categories over its entire competition.

Ballot sent.

Sicario - 11 nominations

Mad Max: Fury Road - 10

Ex Machina - 9

Spectre - 7
Southpaw - 7
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 7

Black Mass - 6
The Walk - 6

Slow West - 5

Bone Tomahawk - 4

CHAPPiE - 3
Spy - 3
Anomalisa - 3
Inside Out - 3
Creed - 3

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - 2
Steve Jobs - 2
The Martian - 2

Z for Zachariah - 1
San Andreas - 1
Kingsman: The Secret Service - 1
It Follows - 1
The Visit - 1
Insidious: Chapter 3 - 1
Wyrmwood - 1
The Gallows - 1
Man Up - 1
Ted 2 - 1
Mortdecai - 1

I agree with this...



And this...



A lot of times my director/picture don't line up. I almost included Sicario because I found the directing great but the movie probably wouldn't even make my top 20 of the year. I did include it for a few technical nominations though.

But like David there are some that I'm sure are deserving in some categories but if I didn't particularly care for the movie I'm not going to nominate it. Before you'd know it categories would fill up with movies I didn't like all that much just because certain aspects may have been worthy. I go with the films I'm more passionate about that are deserving of being in the category. But I think it's up to the individual to decide how they'd like to do it.

Just sent in my ballot!

Deadline pushed back one day.

I believe my counts are: (I didn't include Breakout/Song choices in this list)

Mad Max: Fury Road- 14
Star Wars: The Force Awakens- 13
Crimson Peak- 12
The Martian- 11

Jurassic World- 8
Inside Out- 7
Kingsmen: The Secret Service- 6

Trainwreck- 4
Cinderella- 4
Peanuts- 3
Avengers: Age of Ultron- 2
Focus- 2
The Duff- 2

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation- 1
Ant-Man- 1
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials- 1
The Divergent Series: Insurgent- 1

I will be unable to see The Revenant, Room and The Hateful Eight before voting. The only biggies missing for me from last year. Too bad.

My counts...

Star Wars: The Force Awakens 15
Ex Machina 14
The Martian 11

Creed 7
Cinderella 5

Inside Out 4
Mr. Holmes 4
Kingsman: The Secret Service 4

Love & Mercy 3
Clouds of Sils Maria 3
Trainwreck 3
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 3
Tomorrowland 3
Furious 7 3
Mad Max: Fury Road 3

Avengers: Age of Ultron 2
Jurassic World 2

The Divergent Series: Insurgent 1
The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials 1
Home 1
Jupiter Ascending 1
Pitch Perfect 2 1
Ted 2 1
Unfinished Business 1

My Count:

Ex Machina - 12
The Hateful Eight - 12

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 9
The Revenant - 9

Steve Jobs - 8

Room - 7

Inside Out - 6
The Danish Girl - 6

Trainwreck - 4

Cinderella - 3
Fifty Shades of Grey - 3
Straight Outta Compton - 3

The Gift - 2
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl - 2
The Hunting Ground - 2
Paper Towns 2

The Big Short - 1
Anomalisa - 1
Shaun the Sheep - 1
Home - 1
The Peanuts Movie - 1
The Visit - 1
Crimson Peak - 1
Pitch Perfect 2 - 1
Dope - 1
Spectre - 1
Spy - 1
The Night Before - 1
Joy - 1
Creed - 1
Furious 7 - 1
Amy - 1
Avengers: Age of Ultron -1
Mad Max: Fury Road - 1
Carol - 1

I'm gonna try to see Big Short tomorrow, but I'll send my ballot either way.

Is it OK to vote for The Lobster and VIctoria?

Victoria, yes, The Lobster, no.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2- 13
Star Wars: The Force Awakens- 11
Mad Max: Fury Road- 8
Ex Machina- 7
Trainwreck- 6
Spy- 6
Cinderella- 6
Inside Out- 5
Sicario- 5
Tomorrowland- 4
Kingsman: The Secret Service- 4
Avengers: Age of Ultron- 3
The DUFF- 2
Ant-Man- 2
The Walk- 2
Fifty Shades of Grey- 2
Paddington- 2
Jurassic World- 1
Furious 7- 1
Spectre- 1
Jupiter Ascending- 1
Pixels- 1
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water- 1
Home- 1
Minions- 1
The Good Dinosaur- 1
Mr. Holmes- 1
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel- 1
The Wedding Ringer- 1
Ted 2- 1

-Lava 1