Yes, it's true: Bill & Ted Face the Music qualifies for this year's AARP Movies for Grownups Awards. And so do Nomadland, Land, One Night in Miami...

I am now old enough to see Spike Lee, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ethan Hawke and a Bill & Ted movie all nominated for the Movies for Grownups Awards annually bestowed by AARP The Magazine. And I’m feeling good about that. No, seriously. 

Nomadland, One Night in Miami, News of the World, Minari, Da 5 Bloods, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Land and Mank are among the titles appearing in multiple categories for the latest edition of the Movies for Grownups Awards, a two-decade-old program that aims to champion movies for grownups, by grownups, by advocating for the 50-plus audience (of which I have been a member for cough-cough many years), fighting industry ageism, and encouraging films that resonate with older viewers. 

But wait, there’s more: This year, the MFG organizers have expanded their horizons to honor standout TV programs in new categories. 

 “Each year at Movies for Grownups,” AARP film and TV critic Tim Appelo said Monday in a prepared statement announcing the nominees, “we spotlight films that feature today’s crucial issues and top grownup talents. In this pandemic year, when movies loomed larger than ever in our lives, we are excited to have such a bumper crop of masterworks — and to recognize achievements on TV for the very first time.” 

Hoda Kotb of NBC’s Today will host the AARP awards ceremony aired by Great Performances at 8 pm ET Sunday, March 28 on PBS. And if you just can’t wait that long, don’t sweat: The MFG Awards winners will be announced March 4 here.   

Here is a complete list of nominees for the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards. But remember: As David Letterman used to say, this list is for informational purposes only. No wagering, please. 

Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups: Minari, Nomadland, One Night in Miami, The Trial of the Chicago 7, The United States vs. Billie Holiday 

Best Actress: Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Sophia Loren (The Life Ahead), Frances McDormand (Nomadland), Michelle Pfeiffer (French Exit), Robin Wright (Land) 

Best Actor: Ralph Fiennes (The Dig), Tom Hanks (News of the World), Anthony Hopkins (The Father), Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods), Gary Oldman (Mank) 

Best Supporting Actress: Candice Bergen (Let Them All Talk), Ellen Burstyn (Pieces of a Woman), Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy), Jodie Foster (The Mauritanian), Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari) 

Best Supporting Actor: Demián Bichir (Land), Bill Murray (On the Rocks), Clarke Peters (Da 5 Bloods), Paul Raci (Sound of Metal), Mark Rylance (The Trial of the Chicago 7) 

Best Director: Lee Daniels (The United States vs. Billie Holiday), Regina King (One Night in Miami), Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods), Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7), George C. Wolfe (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) 

Best Ensemble: Da 5 Bloods, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, One Night in Miami, Promising Young Woman, The Trial of the Chicago 7 

Best Intergenerational: Hillbilly Elegy, Minari, On the Rocks, The Father, The Life Ahead Best Buddy Picture: Bad Boys for Life, Bill & Ted Face the Music, Da 5 Bloods, Let Them All Talk, Standing Up, Falling Down 

Best Screenwriter: Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods); Paul Greengrass, Luke Davies (News of the World), Kemp Powers (One Night in Miami), Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7) 

Best Time Capsule: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Mank, One Night in Miami, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, The Trial of the Chicago 7 

Best Grownup Love Story: Emma, Ordinary Love, Supernova, Wild Mountain Thyme, Working Man 

Best Documentary: A Secret Love, Crip Camp, Diana Kennedy: Nothing Fancy, Dick Johnson Is Dead, Sky Blossom: Diaries of the Next Greatest Generation 

Best Foreign Language Film: Another Round (Denmark), Bacurau (Brazil), Collective (Romania), The Life Ahead (Italy), The Weasels’ Tale (Argentina) 

Best Series: Perry Mason, Succession, Ted Lasso, The Crown, This Is Us 

Best TV Movie/Limited Series: Mrs. America, Small Axe, The Queen’s Gambit, Unorthodox, Watchmen 

Best Actress (TV/Streaming): Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show), Cate Blanchett (Mrs. America), Regina King (Watchmen), Laura Linney (Ozark), Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek) 

Best Actor (TV/Streaming): Jason Bateman (Ozark), Ted Danson (The Good Place), Hugh Grant (The Undoing), Ethan Hawke (The Good Lord Bird), Mark Ruffalo (I Know This Much Is True)

Nomadland Voted Best Picture By Houston Film Critics Society

 

As a founding member of the Houston Film Critics Society, I am proud to say director Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland has been designated a multiple winner during final balloting for the 14^th annual HFCS Awards. In addition to copping the Best Picture prize, Zhao’s artful mix of fact and fiction — inspired by the nonfiction bestseller of the same title by Jessica Bruder — earned top honors in the categories of Best Director and Best Cinematography (Joshua James Richards).

Searchlight Pictures currently plans to open Nomadland Jan. 29 in a limited number of IMAX locations nationwide, expand to more IMAX theaters over the next two weeks, and then add other theaters Feb. 19 with simultaneous streaming on Hulu.

Other HFCS winners include:

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Best Original Screenplay: Promising Young Woman

Best Animated Feature: Soul

Best Documentary Feature: My Octopus Teacher

Best Foreign Language Feature: A Sun (Taiwan)

Best Original Score: Soul

Best Original Song: One Night in Miami, “Speak Now”

Best Visual Effects: Tenet

Best Stunt Coordination Team: Tenet

Best Movie Poster Art: Da 5 Bloods

Outstanding Cinematic Achievement: Sound of Metal (for its Immersive Sound Design)

 “While 2020 may have seen changes in how we view movies,” HFCS President Doug Harris said Monday while announcing the organization’s awards, “the year should be remembered for the quality of those films that ultimately reached audiences. “It may have been a bit tougher to see some of these remarkable films, but the wait and the effort were worth it.  And that’s the message our Society members take to their listeners, viewers and readers.

“We look forward to further spotlighting all of our award winners,” Harris added, “during our first television broadcast on January 31, 4 p.m. CST, on Houston’s KUBE 57.  That programming will also celebrate our Texas Independent Film Award nominees and feature the announcement of the winners of our special honors for filmmaking in the state.”

This year’s nominees for the TIFF honor include Boys State, Miss Juneteenth, Ready or Not, The Vast of Night, and Yellow Rose.

The 40 members of the Houston Film Critics Society are working film journalists for television, radio, and online outlets, and in traditional print. Together, they reach millions of people each week across the United States with their critiques and commentaries on film. The organization’s mission is to promote the advancement and appreciation of film in the Houston community and beyond. For a list of members, visit the HFCS website.

And if you would like to cast a ballot of your own in this year’s awards race, remember: You can vote for the Fourth Annual Cowboys & Indians Magazine Movie Awards here. How do I know this? Because in my other life, I am a cowboy.