This year’s Awards Journal – complete with interviews with the season’s top contenders, category-by-category analysis and think pieces – is now available for free in all Curzon cinemas. Read Yasmin Omar’s editor’s letter for a taste of what you’ll find in the issue.
It has been a, shall we say, interesting awards season so far. The dual writers’ and actors’ strikes – which lasted a combined 264 days – exposed just how delicate the whole For Your Consideration ecosystem is. Remove this talent from the equation, and everything’s thrown off balance. Save for the handful of projects with SAG interim agreements, there were no starry autumn film-festival premieres, no glossy magazine profiles, no viral interview moments. (Well, except for waiver-approved Priscilla’s Jacob Elordi admitting he only knew about Elvis Presley from Lilo & Stitch.) The carnage this labour action wrought on awards season really showed the studios the unions’ collective strength, and we’re delighted both groups have secured deals they’re happy with.
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
For us at Curzon, though, it was mostly business as usual putting together this year’s Awards Journal. We always strive to spotlight below-the-line artisans and, as ever, have assembled a formidable line-up of craft contenders to elucidate their creative practice in this issue. I spoke with casting directors Ellen Lewis and Rene Haynes about finding Indigenous performers for Killers of the Flower Moon; and learned about the art of constructing multipurpose sets from The Color Purple’s production designer Paul D Austerberry. We’ve also got interviews with Poor Things’ costume designer Holly Waddington, Saltburn’s cinematographer Linus Sandgren, The Teachers’ Lounge screenwriters İlker Çatak and Johannes Duncker, and Anselm’s 3D expert Sebastian Cramer, among others. Plus, Team Barbenheimer can rest assured that this summer’s release date-sharing juggernauts are both represented here. Ellen Peirson-Hagger discusses Barbie’s instant classic ‘I’m Just Ken’ with songwriters Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, and Orla Smith hears from Oppenheimer editor Jennifer Lame about condensing a life into three hours.
Barbie (2023)
Those who fancy a flutter on the above-the-line awards races this year should pay close attention to our dedicated category pages, where we predict which actors, writers and directors are well positioned to take home shiny gold trophies. And, looking beyond the current season, we’ve got a pair of think pieces that turn back the clock on cinema present. There’s Guy Lodge’s illuminating history of the Oscars’ manipulable, controversy-courting Best International Feature award; and Christina Newland’s retrospective on the 1934 Academy Awards, which, like Curzon itself, celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2024.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Newland’s piece brings a touch of Old Hollywood glamour to this year’s Awards Journal, much like illustrator Nas Alhusain’s gold-fi nished, art deco-inspired cover design. We hope you enjoy this edition of the magazine, with its Parisian apartments, conducting batons and anthropomorphised robots. If you’re hungry for more of our film criticism once you’ve finished, head on over to curzon.com/journal for new articles, essays, reviews and interviews every week. We promise a meal that’s as satisfying as the pastel de nata in Poor Things.
Pick up your copy of the Awards Journal in your local Curzon (for free!) while stocks last.
